tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-196143922018-01-24T08:04:04.584-05:00My Random ThoughtsJust a spot for me to vent on random topicalities.. enjoy! :)@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.comBlogger136125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-78680106332793468492017-05-28T12:22:00.000-04:002017-05-28T12:23:42.549-04:00Controversies at the Most Magical Place on Earth? <div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">If you have ever done an online search for Disney World, you will find that there are countless Disney blogs and fan sites. I'm not one to talk, I'm turning this page in to one as well.. The difference is I haven't been there a million times, like several of the other writers. I also was never a cast member or part of the College Program (but if I had known about it when I was in college, I would have applied for it). But I have been there a few times, and have read several of those other sites, and feel that I have a pretty good idea of the comings and goings </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One of the sites that pops up on my radar every now and then publishes its posts as lists. The top 10 this or the 6 biggest that or whatever. Often they claim to be things that you don't know about one of the parks or rides or whatever. They rarely have anything that I hadn't read or seen from either personal experience or read from another source. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">A list I came across today was interesting, and I figured I would have to give my feedback to it. You can read the list here: <a href="http://www.mickeytips.com/the-10-biggest-disney-park-controversies/">http://www.mickeytips.com/the-10-biggest-disney-park-controversies/</a>It is titled the 10 Biggest Disney Park Controversies. I'd like to take them each one by one and give my take on each of them.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">10. Which Park Is The Best? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />This one is a bit tricky. I love almost everything about Animal Kingdom, and don't get it why so many people call it a half day park. Now that Avatar is open (which I will be seeing in September), there certainly is more to do, but I never had problems filling a day there. Often, we would spend 2 days there on a trip. I would rank the Kilimanjaro Safari ride as one of the best in all of Disney World. Kali River is a fun (albeit too short) water ride, and I love the Flights of Wonders show. There is something for everyone there, and has probably the 2 best quick service restaurants on property (Flame Tree and Restaurantasaurus, and the new one at Avatar, looks to be ready to take the top spot. With the addition of the 2 rides at Avatar, the projection show on the Tree of Life and the Rivers of Light night show, it will be difficult to call it a half day park any more. <br /><br /><br /><br />That said, I think I have to go with the Magic Kingdom as the best park. It has the most to do, and it not only can never be called a half day park, it is hard to make it only a 1 day park. Even the experienced Disney goers can't get everything they want done there in a single day. It has all of the classics, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise. Not to mention the immersive theming that envelops you with every step you take. I would like to see some more table service options, but except for EPCOT, all the parks are rather limited. Some of the best places to sit down and eat are in the resorts, not the parks. <br /><br /><br /><br />While I enjoy days at EPCOT and Hollywood studios, in their current conditions, they pale in comparison to the other parks. Things will all change in 2019 when Star Wars Land is expected to open at Hollywood Studios (or whatever it will be called then, a name change is expected). I love Toy Story Midway Mania, the Indy Show (I know, a lot of people think it's tired, but maybe I just haven't seen it enough), and it has some great shows for kids. I'm not much for thrill rides, but Tower of Terror is fantastically well done. Over at EPCOT, expect to do a lot of walking. I am looking forward to experiencing Soarin' around the World. I really loved the original version and have intentionally not watched videos of it online, waiting to see it for myself our next trip. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">9. Which Is The Best Mountain? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />Ah yes, the Disney World Mountain Range, 3 (Splash, Thunder and Space) or 4 (Expedition Everest) mountains with rides. Do you count the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train? For me, it's an easy one. Hands down it is Splash. Now, I haven't yet been on Space (as I said before, I'm not huge into thrill rides, and my family is less so, but I have intentions to ride it at some point, after all, how can you call yourself a Disney Park Nerd if you've never ridden Space Mountain?)<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">8. Turkey Legs v. Dole Whips –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />Another no brainer here. Dole Whip for the win. I have never been a big fan of turkey legs, and wouldn't want to walk around the park picking past all the tendons. Give me a Dole Whip Float any day of the week. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">7. Haunted Mansion Or Pirates Of The Caribbean? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />Ok, this one I had to think about for a minute. I love both, and a trip to the Magic Kingdom just isn't complete without a ride on both. There are people who don't like what is represented in Pirates, and many that don't like the Johnny Depp overlays, but it is still a great ride. But on this one, I have to give the nod to the Haunted Mansion. It is a lot of fun and can be ridden multiple times each trip. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">6. Which Disney Resort Is The Best? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />Here is one I really can't speak of with a ton of authority. I have only stayed at 2 (Saratoga Springs and Kidani Village at Animal Kingdom Lodge). Both are great places to stay. I have visited other resorts for the restaurants. The live open savannas give Animal Kingdom Lodge the edge. I know a lot of people don't like how far away they are from other things.. you can't hop on the monorail or boat and get to the Magic Kingdom, you can't walk to EPCOT or Hollywood studios or Disney Springs. For us, the bus service has been all we need to get wherever we want to go with minimal waiting. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">5. Walt Disney World Or Disneyland? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />Another one that I really can't comment on. Hopefully someday soon we will make it to Anaheim, but I don't know when that will be.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">4. Are Certain Attractions Overrated? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />Of course certain attractions are overrated. Which ones are a matter of opinion. For me, the overrated things include Test Track, Mission: Space and most character meet and greets. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">3. Are Certain Attractions Underrated? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />As certain attractions are overrated, there are underrated ones as well. On my list of underrated attractions you find things like Carousel of Progress, the People Mover, and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. <br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">2. Which Is The Best Disney Restaurant? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />I haven't eaten at them all, and haven't been to any of the 'signature' ones either, but of the ones I have been to, I have really enjoyed Liberty Tree Tavern (Magic Kingdom) for dinner, Captains Grille (Yacht Club Resort) and Cape May (Beach Club Resort) for dinner and Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge) for both Breakfast and Dinner. Honorable mention goes to 'Ohana (Polynesian resort) for breakfast (wasn't a fan of dinner), Garden Grille (EPCOT) for breakfast and Trail's End (Fort Wilderness Lodge) for dinner. <br /><br /><br /><br />A couple I probably wouldn't be going back to include The Wave (Contemporary Resort) for dinner, 'Ohana for dinner, and Yak and Yeti (Animal Kingdom) for dinner. <br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="JUSTIFY" style="border: none; margin-bottom: 0in; padding: 0in;"><strong><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;verdana&quot; , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">1. Which Nighttime Show Is The Best? –</span></span></span></span></strong></div><br />So much has changed since our last trip, that I really can't comment on this one either. Wishes is done at Magic Kingdom, replaced by the new Happily Ever After, Hollywood Studios added the Star Wars show, and the projection show and Rivers of Light at Animal Kingdom are all new since we were there last. <br /><br /><br /><br />The one time I saw Fantasmic! I wasn't thrilled with it, but we will be doing it again this time so I can give it another viewing. Wishes at Magic Kingdom was great. The music and narration were powerful. We had the opportunity to see Hallowishes at the Halloween party a couple years ago, and loved that and will be seeing it again this year, but of the shows that were in place last time we went, I have to give the nod of best night time show to Illuminations at EPCOT. The fact that there are so many great places to see the show around the World Showcase lagoon, to the music, fire, water, lasers and fireworks, it makes for a great way to end the day at EPCOT. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Well, there you have it. My takes on the 10 biggest Controversies at Walt Disney World. What are your thoughts? Where was I right, where was I wrong? 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style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">** Warning Spoilers to follow, proceed at your own risks **</b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ok, now that that is out of the way, I wanted to give my review and thoughts of Captain America: Civil War. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I have always enjoyed the Marvel Universe. I was never a huge comic book guy growing up… but when I picked one up, it was usually an X-Men, Avengers, or Spider-man. My cousins were a lot more into it than I was, and I kind of fed off of them. We played the Marvel version of Dungeons and Dragons, so we created our own superheroes in the Marvel Universe. I can accept the idea that there are multiple iterations of the Marvel Universe, so Captain America, doesn’t necessarily live in the same New York City as Professor Xavier and his X-Men do, which is different than the one that Peter Parker lives in. Imagine a world with all of the Marvel superheroes and supervillains in the same city at the same time. It would be kind of awkward for normal people to live, but I suppose you would get used to it. I like to think that I have a better than average idea of what is going on there, but some of the obscure plotlines, I am not as familiar with. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of those plotlines I don’t know much (or anything, really) about from the, comic perspective, is the Civil War. For this review, I am going to go off of how the movie was done, not how it <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">should have</i> been done. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I like how they have woven the Avengers’ individual movies (Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man, etc.) together with the Avengers movies, and look forward to them continuing to do so. There are aspects of the previous movies that are helpful to have seen them (but probably not imperative, I haven’t seen the Antman movie yet, so I probably missed some inside jokes, but I don’t think I missed anything from that movie in this one).</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In a nutshell, the world’s governments are conflicted when it comes to the Avengers. On one hand, they are able to stop the supernatural forces of evil, but there is (sometimes excessive) civilian collateral damage. Sometimes it is extensive. The UN has decided to create guidelines as to how and when the Avengers can assemble. As you can imagine, when you take a group of people who have become accustomed to doing whatever they felt was needed to get the job done and give them a set of rules they now need to follow, there will be some pushback. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is called the Sachovian Accords, after the events in the last Avengers movie. The group is split between whether or not this is good for the Avengers, and there are some strong opinions on both sides. Ultimately, a few sign the accords, while others refuse. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">(Warning, spoilers coming... you have been warned...) </b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As the accords were being implemented, the UN is bombed, and blamed on Captain America’s friend, Bucky, the Winter Soldier. An all points with shoot to kill goes out and Cap goes after his friend, and the battle lines are drawn. The Avengers are divided. Those who are in favor of the oversight follow Tony Stark and those against the regulations follow Steve Rogers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>A huge fight breaks out at an airport with Avenger fighting Avenger. It is another example of why the Accord is important. In the scuffle, planes are destroyed, as well as ground units (belt loaders, tugs, etc.) and even the tower and terminals are subject to extensive damage. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ultimately, Captain America and Winter Soldier escape, the remaining Avengers opposed to the Accord are rounded up and sent to a super-secret maximum security prison. The Captain and Soldier go off on their own to try to prove that he (Winter Soldier) was innocent and ultimately tag team to beat up Iron Man, then go break the rest of the Avengers out of the super-secret under water prison they are being held in for violating the Sachovian Accords. The movie ends with Tony opening a letter (delivered by Stan Lee) apologizing to him and giving him a phone (really? A flip phone? I get it that you are a WWII vet, and you don’t grasp tech like Tony does.. but a flip phone?) that he can use call if and when he needs their help. What is this? The A-Team?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Here are my thoughts. I know it was a ‘Captain America’ movie, so he is going to have to be the one that comes out on top. I wonder how different it would have been if it was an Iron Man movie, or if it was a more generic Avengers movie. That said, I didn’t like the way it ended. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I can understand where they are coming from. No one likes restrictive rules, especially new rules. That said, there needs to be a checks and balance system in place. It is the same reason that our Constitution established 3 parts of the government, each with checks on another. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Overall, it was an entertaining movie. I would rank it slightly above the middle of the pack among the Avengers movies (including the individuals). The Stan Lee cameo is one of the better ones, I still think the best one was in one of the worst movies, Fantastic 4 2, when he is trying to get into the wedding, but he wasn’t on the list. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span>The extended scene at the end after the credits foreshadow a new Spider-man reboot, do we really need that right now?</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-75640988610148038622015-11-27T07:51:00.001-05:002015-11-27T07:57:00.884-05:00Meanwhile, back at WDW...<div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Well, another trip in the books, lets take a look and see how it went. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This year's cast of characters included my wife and daughter (19mo), my parents, my sister-in-law and her daughter (4). Helen and Molly had joined us for a previous trip (<a href="http://yedliw.blogspot.com/2013/10/our-latest-disney-trip.html" target="_blank">read about it here</a>), but this was the first trip to Disney for my parents since we made 2 day trips to Magic Kingdom and the then EPCOT Center in 1985. The other 2 parks weren't around back then.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We were scheduled for a week at Kindani village. We had hoped for a spot at the Boardwalk, but there were no 2 bedroom suites available the week we were looking for. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Since we are DVC, staying on points, we have always paid for our trips in pieces. You know, plane tickets.. dining plan.. park tickets.. etc.. This year, the park tickets were the last big piece we paid for. That made it difficult to get fast passes for the some of the more popular attractions. We were unable to get fast passes for the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train, or for Toy Story. There were several meet and greets that were full as well.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The best priced flights were out of BUF, so we drove the hour down the thruway (I-90). We had an early (ish) morning flight, so we booked a night at the Marriott across the street and made arrangements to park our cars there for the week. Once we were checked in, we headed over to Charlie the Butchers for some great beef on weck.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In the morning we took the hotel shuttle to the airport and boarded the plane. It was the first time that Evelyn had been on a plane, and despite having being up at 5am, she was awake and active for the entire 2 hour flight, right up until the instant we touched down in Orlando, when she went out like a light. We arrived at MCO shortly before noon on Saturday the 14<sup>th</sup>, and we headed down to the first floor of the airport where the Disney Magic Express buses whisk you away to your resort. When we stepped off the elevator, we were a bit surprised to see how busy it was. One of the reasons we had picked this week was that traditionally, it was a relatively light crowd week at Disney. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">But despite being fuller than I have ever seen it, our line moved fairly well, and in about 20 minutes, we were on a bus and on our way to the hotel. When we got there, we checked in and got our room assignment. I had gotten the texts that let us know the room was ready, but that we would need to check in at the front desk to get our room assignment. We head to the elevators and make the trek to the room. We had requested a room on the Sunset Savannah, near the lobby. We got one of those. Although, by the way the crow flies, it wasn't that far from the lobby, but you can't walk across the savannah to get there. The hotel is built like a large looping 'w', with the lobby being the center point. We called down to see if there was a different room closer to the lobby, but the hotel was booked solid. There would be an opening the next night, so we agreed to move the next day and we headed over to Hollywood Studios. With all the recent closings there and the group not being big on thrill rides, there isn't a lot to draw us there, but we did want to catch the Osborne lights. We hadn't been there for Christmas, and this was going to be the last year of them. My dad also wanted to see the Lights Motors Action show. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">This was our first visit to Hollywood Studios since the Hat came down. I didn't have the hatred towards the hat that may people did, but that is probably because I had only been there when it was there. I can't say I liked it, but I can't say I didn't either. It just sort of was. I did like the background it made for photos as you enter the park, but the Chinese Theater does a nice job on its own. We didn't have a meal planned for the first day, so we hit up the Back Lot Express for dinner. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Osborne lights were amazing. They completely covered the Streets of America in Christmas lights. The lights danced with the music and it even was snowing. It was quite crowded, but not so bad that you couldn't move through the crowd as you needed. It is too bad that they are going away after this year, but I am looking forward to what they will be doing with the new Star Wars world that will be going in its place. I'm sure they will be doing a light display somewhere else on property. Probably not to the scale of Osborne, but I'm sure there will be something. We had fast passes for Fantasmic! but it had been a long day, so we decided to forgo it and went back to the resort.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Sunday morning, we packed up our stuff, and left it together near the door for bell services to pick up and take to our new room. We had reservations for the new breakfast at the Garden Grill at Epcot, so we hopped the bus and headed to the park. This was one of the places we wanted for dinner, but were unable to secure reservations. When they announced a couple of months ago that they were adding breakfast, I jumped on it, and was able to secure a reservation. One of the criteria I was trying to keep to when picking where would eat was to try to stick with the all you can eat places, since we were traveling with an infant (by Disney standards, anyone under 3 is an infant), and would be able to eat off our plates at no extra charge. The fact that Farmer Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale were there were a bonus. The food was great, and we ate ourselves silly on cinnamon rolls, scrambled eggs, ham, bacon, tater tots, Mickey waffles, biscuits and gravy and fruit, all washed down with that famous POG juice. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">By mid afternoon, our new room had been secured, but our luggage had been misplaced. My wife and her sister took the kids to the community room to relax while my parents and I stayed at Epcot. Before long, our luggage had been located and delivered to our new room, much closer to the lobby. In fact, we were moved to the closest room to the lobby. It made for much shorter walks to the gift shop for refills for our mugs.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">It was the last day of the Food and Wine festival. I had been to Epoct during the festival, but never really experienced it. I was looking forward to trying some of the offerings from the kiosks set up from around the world. A new option on the dining plan this year allows you to get 3 '<i>snacks</i>' for 1 quick service meal credit. I was looking forward to using this option for dinner. I ended up getting my dinner from the Brazil kiosk. I had Brazil's take on shepherds pie, pork belly and a drink. Both were very good, but the servings were very small. My dad chose to eat at Belgium. He got a dinner waffle, a desert waffle and a drink. My mom went a couple kiosks down and went into the Tangarine Cafe, and got a regular quick service meal. When she came back to the table that we had secured to watch Illuminations from, we were shocked how much more food she had than we did. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Monday morning saw us at Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom. In our planning, I was unable to secure a fast pass for the new 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. It was under construction the last 2 times we were there, and I was looking forward to riding it. I figured that this would be our best chance to ride it without an hour + wait. We made a mad dash to the ride as soon as they let us in. When we got there, the line already wrapped almost completely around the ride. There was a cast member there holding a sign indicating the beginning (or end?) of the line. He assured us that the ride had just started, and despite looking long, it would move right along now that the trains were running. Sure enough, it moved right along and before long, we were climbing into the cars. The theming was fantastic. The animatronics inside the mine were great. It isn't a supper intense roller-coaster, but with the technology they have put into it, it is worth riding at least once. Of course we also hit the traditional must-do's. The trinity of Magic Kingdom rides, Jungle Cruise (or Jingle Cruise, as it is this time of year), Haunted Mansion and Pirates. No trip to Magic Kingdom is complete without a ride on these. After the several month long renovation of Pirates, I was looking forward to riding the newly refurbished ride. We were in the front row, which has gained the reputation of getting you wet on the initial plunge near the start of the ride. I'll just say that I have never gotten wetter on all my rides on Splash Mountain. I was disappointed that the fog waterfall wasn't working, but it was working on later rides. The Jingle Cruise was fun, but I found myself missing the traditional jokes that were replaced in favor of the Christmas jokes. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Lunch that day was at the Columbia Harbor House. It was another place I had not eaten at, but had heard good things about. I chose the salmon dish. It came with steamed broccoli and couscous. Being a quick service, I wasn't sure what to expect. When I was in line, I was planning on ordering something different, but someone ahead of me ordered it, and it looked good, so I changed my mind, and was glad I did. It was very good, and at a menu price of $12.50, it was a very good use of a quick service credit.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">One thing we had been looking forward to was Evy's first haircut. She is just about 19 months, and we have been holding out for the first haircut package at the barber shop on Main Street USA. We weren't sure how it would go. Some new things she is good with, others, not so much. She had slept most of the morning as we pushed her in the rented stroller. When it was time to check in at the barber shop, we got her up and started to wake her up. I was surprised how small the barber shop is, just 3 chairs, and a very little waiting space. All 3 chairs were in use when we checked in, but after a few minutes, she was in the chair. The stylist did a great job. She started by putting Mickey stickers all over Evy's arms and legs and handed her a toy to keep her occupied. When she was done, she put a 'First Haircut' Mickey ears on her head and gave us a small satchel with the hair clippings. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dinner that night found us at The Wave in the Contemporary, so a brief monorail ride over and we were checking in. It was another first time for us. I don't think that it will be on our list to return. It was nice, and the food was good, but it was loud, and the service wasn't great. Maybe I was just over tired, but I didn't fall in love with this place. After we ate, we went upstairs to a balcony that overlooked the Magic Kingdom to watch Wishes, the nightly fireworks display. We had plans on going up to the Top of the World Lounge, the lounge exclusively for DVC members, but by the time we finished eating, we didn't have time to go over there. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Tuesday night, Hollywood Studios was hosting an employee party, so it was scheduled to close early. I figured it would be a good day to go back and hit the things we missed Saturday, since it was a short day. It was. We lined up at rope-drop for Toy Story, another ride we couldn't get fast passes for. We hit a few things that we missed Saturday and re-did a couple that we wanted to do again. After an afternoon break, we returned to the park to catch the boat to the Yacht Club resort for dinner at The Captain's Grille. This was hands down, the best meal of the trip. Everyone loved their meals. I went with the chef's pasta creation. It was egg noodles cooked in veal stock, tossed with braised short ribs and topped with Parmesan and fresh arugula. Highly delicious, highly recommended. After dinner we walked to Epcot, and caught a bus back to the resort.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The only park we had yet to visit was up for Wednesday morning. Magic hours had us arriving at The Animal Kingdom shortly before 8am. We made our way to the Safari for an early morning ride. I was a little disappointed with the animal participation that morning. For lunch we tried the new Harambe Market. I really enjoyed the beef gyro. The milk tart desert as different, and tasty. Our dinner that night was going to be late, so my wife and her sister took the girls to Epcot for dinner, while my parents and I looked forward to the seafood buffet at Cape May at the Beach Club resort. If you are a seafood lover (more specifically a shellfish lover), this is the place for you. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Since they announced breakfast at Be Our Guest, I was intrigued. I had eaten there for lunch, and was interested in trying their breakfast option. I was unable to get a reservation for all 7 of us, but was able to get one for 4. Kathy and Helen took Molly for some meet and greets, while my parents and I took Evy to dine with the beast. I had been planning on ordering the open faced sandwich. When it arrived, it was served with scrambled eggs. I was almost half way through before I remembered it was supposed to be poached. I flagged down a waitress to let her know, she offered to replace it, but by that point, I didn't think it was worth it, and it was a half hearted offer. I have no doubt they would have, but I just didn't want to deal with it. My mom ordered the Croque Madame, it arrived luke warm, and she was dissatisfied. Overall, it wasn't a great experience. I wouldn't call it a bad one, but by Disney standards, it was pretty low. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We did the usual things you do at the Magic Kingdom, including the new Festival of Fantasy. I'm not usually much for parades, but this one is pretty cool. The floats are very well done, and the dragon is pretty cool. We had another relatively late dinner, so Kathy and Helen set a earlier dinner at The Plaza while we waited for a visit to the Trails End at the Fort Wilderness resort. It was a Christmas party night, so the park was closing at 7, our diner was at 7.30p. On our way out of the park, we caught the show of freezing the castle. It was pretty cool seeing it. It is amazing how they can project pictures onto the castle and have them be animated and recognizable. It's not like it is a smooth, flat surface. The lights they have hung on the castle really make it look like it is ice. We took the boat to the resort and made our way to the Trails End. I really enjoyed it. It had all the comfort food you could want, including a baked potato bar, complete with cheese, bacon, butter etc. The only thing I would do to improve it would be to make it a bit bigger. The buffet area was a bit cramped, and it was tough to jump in and get what you want. It was like you had to go through the line each time. After we ate, a quick boat ride back to the Kingdom, and a bus ride back to our hotel for the night. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Friday was extra magic hours again early at Animal Kingdom. I was pretty tired after the past week walking 7-10 miles a day, so I decided to take a break, and not hit the park so early. Kathy and Helen took Molly early, and my parents, Evy and I took our time getting ready and getting to the park. We met up at Dinoland. After a ride on the Triceratops spinner, the line was forming to meet Santa Goofy, so we got in line. I moved a fast pass for the Kali River ride that we had missed by getting to the park late and hit a couple other things we had either missed on Wednesday, or wanted to do again. Dinner that night was at Tusker House. It featured Safari Donald Duck and his friends, Goofy, Daisy and Mickey, all also dressed for a safari. This buffet had plenty of space, but there was less on it that I was interested in. The meat at the carving stations was over cooked. The characters were great, and Evy loved meeting each of them. The park closed at 6, and our reservation was for 6, so as most of the people were heading for the exits, we were sitting down for dinner. This gave us the opportunity to see the Tree of Life all lit up, with few people around. It is quite the sight. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">On our past trips, our flight home was early enough that there really isn't much time do do anything besides pack up and burn any unused snack credits before we head to the airport, but this time, our flight wasn't until 8.30, so we had all day. We had breakfast at Boma, so we took a quick walk to the Jambo house. We had eaten there for dinner on a previous trip, but breakfast would be a new experience for us. It has some African themed dishes as well as more traditional American type breakfast options. It also had the famous POG juice. I really enjoyed it, and would keep it on the 'would return' side of the ledger. After breakfast, we returned to our room to pack up everything and we dropped our bags off at bell services. We checked in for our flights and had our boarding passes printed. We still had several hours to use, so we headed to Magic Kingdom to wrap our trip. It was a nice way to end our stay. We had already done all the <i>must do's</i> on our list, so everything we did was gravy. It was now the first day of Thanksgiving week, and a weekend, so the crowds were higher than we had seen earlier in the week, but we weren't pressing. We had some fast passes, but we had a pretty relaxed last day at the park. After the afternoon parade, we headed for the bus back to the resort for the last time. We collected our things from bell services, used the last of our snack credits and headed for the Magic Express. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">When we got to the airport, and through security, we headed for our gate. Once there, we were notified that our plane was going to be late. A front had moved in, and the plane that we were supposed to be on had been diverted to Jacksonville, and didn't have an ETA for Orlando. So we waited. And waited. Eventually, our plane arrived. We boarded our 8.30p flight just before 11, and touched down in Buffalo about 2am. We called the hotel and caught the shuttle back to our car and drove home. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Some final thoughts on the trip. The weather was great. Not too hot. We had some rain on Wednesday and Thursday, but not enough to ruin anything. I think that I am over the Food and Wine fest. As someone who doesn't drink, there really isn't much to draw me to it. The snacks, while good, are small and pricy, even by Disney standards. I kind of liked the magic bands and fast pass system last time we went, but this time, it was a bit less convenient. Perhaps because we didn't buy the park passes early enough to get the ones we wanted, perhaps it is because we were trying to manage a larger group.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Planning a day with kids is much different than it is as just a couple of adults. We should have scheduled either non park days, or at least ½ days to take advantage of the activities at the resorts, whether it is games in the community room, activities around the pool, including the movies under the stars or whatever. We can't be park commandos until Evy is a bit older, but by then, we very well could be too old ourselves to do it! </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">There are quite a range of views of the dining plan. I like it for the convenience of having all your meals prepaid for, but the hassle of making reservations for each day can get tedious. Don't get me wrong, I think that the dining is as much a part of a Disney trip as the rides and shows, but it isn't super convenient getting to and from other resorts (especially those not on the monorail), and some of the best places to eat are at the resorts, not in the parks. A couple of changes in how I will plan for meals in the future, is to not be so opposed to booking lunches for one, and another is to skip the dining plan all together and just pick the 3 or 4 meals we want to do and buy gift cards months in advance to use on food. That way, the meals are still prepaid for, and we can be a bit more free in what we order and how we experience the restaurant. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I'm glad we got to see the Osborne lights before they go dark for ever. I would have liked to see Wishes from in the Magic Kingdom, but when you visit in a week that has 3 nights closed early for the Christmas party, it makes it tough to schedule. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We don't have any hard plans for our next trip. It doesn't look like it will be for over a year at this point. I would like to see the parks in the spring, but not during spring break, March or April, but not near Easter. Perhaps for the garden fest. There is a good chance that parts of Avatar will be open at Animal Kingdom will have opened, and maybe even parts of Star Wars land will be taking shape. If not, Hollywood Studios might not even be on our agenda. The new Frozen ride at Epcot will be open and the River of Light show at Animal Kingdom will be on, so we'll have those to look forward to. I keep saying one of these trips, I'm going to get on a golf course.. maybe next time will be the time. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-67827323591798347892015-06-22T10:50:00.000-04:002015-06-22T10:50:06.617-04:00Trying Something New<div style="text-align: justify;">As part of a high school English project several years ago, I wrote the first chapter of a novel. I wrote a few more pages, but then life happened, and a floppy disk on Apple 2e, was a little less than reliable.. a few years ago, I decided to give it a shot again and started another one.. but didn't get more than a few pages in before my laptop gave up the ghost..&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Well, I've decided to give it another go. This time, I am several pages in. I don't know what direction I want to take it, but I've got a few ideas. I've decided to post the first chapter here. It may evolve to become the preface rather than chapter 1, but I'm a long way from having to make that decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As always, I encourage feedback, let me know what you think.. and if you pick up a book and read this, would you keep reading? I may share more in the future, but for now, this is it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Chapter 1</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">He collapsed into the chair in the empty lounge. It was a long day, and he was still getting used to life on Mars. He had all the physical training before he left Earth, but simulators can only go so far. As he gazed out through the glass dome of the compound, he looked to see if he could see Earth, but this time of year, the Earth is on the other side of the sun.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“The final tram to the residential compound will be leaving in 15 minutes. Once again, the final tram for the residential compound will be departing in 15 minutes.” The PA system echoed through the abandoned lounge. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__0_2TO0_1"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.5236735081456776"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__10_13TO3_6"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.6268775522480708"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__4_8TO8_13"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.3289480578034294"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__15_16TO15_17"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.15539185622922547"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__18_20TO19_20"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.838146349416651"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__34_41TO22_30"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.8697830302368487"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__22_32TO32_43"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.3135114453896829"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__43_46TO45_48"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.6317399870477931"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__51_57TO50_57"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.27489945452881315"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__59_60TO59_60"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.26593121857301816"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__62_63TO62_63"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.06099218012261087"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__65_71TO65_70"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.3849439160564744"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.5942838511440539"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__79_83TO73_78"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.8662923189730433"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__74_77TO80_88"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.25494048697176275"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.5681981190405307"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__86_88TO91_92"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.9259211053230311"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__96_99TO94_97"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.05245949239858638"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__90_94TO99_104"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.27285317614011206"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__101_103TO106_108"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.020747782857705177"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__105_107TO110_111"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.15241921061446773"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__121_128TO113_121"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.8270163630012433"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__109_119TO123_134"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.2034158940270816"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__130_133TO136_139"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.9059132343706815"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__138_146TO141_151"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.4317919086567471"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__148_149TO153_154"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.7483224533469263"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__151_152TO156_157"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.2370830538500871"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="ouHighlight__154_160TO159_164"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="noHighlight_0.29420649303490076"></a>“Il tram finale per il complesso residenziale sarà lasciare in 15 minuti. Ancora una volta, il tram finale per il complesso residenziale sarà in partenza in 15 minuti.” the PA repeated in Italian, then again in Chinese. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The tram to the dorms was a 35 minute ride. He considered just crashing in his office again, but he really needed to get back, so he grabbed his stuff, and headed to the station. It was the last work day of the week at the center, so the tram station was almost as empty as the lounge he had just left. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Hey Dave, running late again?” asked the conductor. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">“Yea, you know how it is..” he responded as he stepped on the tram seconds before the automatic doors slid shut. He turned to find a seat. The last tram of the week was routinely light, and today was no exception. They had considered eliminating it to cut costs, but the workers voiced strong disapproval, and since the tram was solar powered, it really wasn't going to save a lot.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Dave found his seat. He liked sitting by the window on the left side of the tram on the way home. It had a better view of the Martian landscape. The route took them right past where the rover <i>Opportunity</i> first landed. The remains of the landing pod can still be seen as they flew past. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Roanoke station had been originally set up as a mining colony. It is officially a colony of the United States in conjunction with China, but due to the remoteness, it is effectively self governing. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">In the mid 2020s, a subsidiary of a Richard Bronson company had developed a low cost, unmanned cargo craft that could make the trip to Mars in less than a year. It saved on fuel by not needing any life support systems. It is basically an interplanetary dumbwaiter. The Lusitania II would haul ore to Earth, and return a little less than 2 years later stocked with supplies. Once it got up and running, they needed more and more miners, and the population grew to a few hundred. Since there was no reliable way to return to Earth, everyone was living under the understanding that it was a 1 way trip. In the last 15 years, 7 people had tried to stow away on Lusitania II, only to be found frozen solid when it docked in Mexico. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Then they figured how to harvest ice from passing comets to refill the long dry ocean. And that's when things started to change.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br />@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-87550285925318783782014-11-14T22:32:00.001-05:002014-11-14T22:45:16.467-05:00It's a Changing World<div style="text-align: justify;">These days, it seems a week doesn't go by without news of something closing or going away or changing at Walt Disney World. Whether it is American Idol, the Backlot Tour, Maelstrom being 'Frozen-ised' the big hat going away not to mention the acts ending around EPCOT. There are a lot of opinions about the changes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some changes are progress, others seem to be a step back. Depending on who you may ask, one may be one for one person, and the other for another.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are a myriad of rumors as to what is going to happen next. More Frozen stuff, a Wreck-it Ralph attraction, or bring a ride from Disneyland over to the World? The one that seems to have the most traction is an expanded Star Wars presence. Especially after Disney bought LucasFilm. What form that is going to take is anyone's guess at this point. Will it be a whole new 5th park? Will it be a Star Wars world similar to the Harry Potter section at Universal?&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My guess is they are planning on taking a large part of the back part of Hollywood Studios and creating a large Star Wars World. I believe there will be a couple rides, a couple places for refreshments, a new show or two, and of course, gift shops.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The rides I can picture being incorporated into the area are a couple of different types. I would like to see a quasi-thrill ride, either a speeder bike ride through Endor, or in an X-Wing fighter in a space battle or a pod race. A dark ride through the movies would be cool.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are any number of scenes from the 6 existing movies: the tree city of Endor, Lando's Cloud City, Kashyyyk, Hoth, Degobah, Coruscant, and of course the Cantina from Mos Eisley. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, it is all speculation. Some is wishful thinking. I wish that they would have gotten started on a Star Wars World before they started on that huge Avatar land in Animal Kingdom.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Whatever the case is, one thing is for sure, it is going to be a much different park when we go in just about a year from now.<br /><br />Not that I'm counting...&nbsp; </div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-47231708954047511852014-06-27T19:16:00.001-04:002014-06-27T19:18:00.004-04:00It's on the Horizon...<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> 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<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When we went to Walt Disney World for our honeymoon a couple years back, I got hooked on the parks. What does that mean? A couple of things really.. First off, I read a couple of Disney Parks forums daily (sometime multiple times a day..), secondly, I am always in planning mode for our next trip, even if we don’t have one specifically planned (there is always a ‘next trip’ in the works)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I like to look at the resorts to see where we can stay <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">next time</i>. One of the sites I frequent has weekly WDW updates, so I can keep track of what is going on down there (updates, scheduled referbs, etc..). I read the forums to see what other fans have seen and experienced, that way, I can keep up with all the changes in the parks (like the updated MagicBand program and the newly opened 7 Dwarfs Mine Train ride). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since we are in the Disney Vacation Club (DVC), we will be going on average every year or so. Our last trip (January) was a big one, so it used up 2 years’ worth of points, so our next trip was going to be a ways off. We had an idea of when it was going to be, but nothing firm. Well.. we have nailed it down on when we want to go. We are looking to go down with my parents the week before Thanksgiving, next year. We wanted to go when crowds are down, but we still wanted to see the parks all done up for Christmas. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I like going during the off-peak times when crowds are low, and points (to book rooms) are less. This time frame is the 2<sup>nd</sup> lowest time to go, points wise. They start with the Christmas decorations right after Halloween. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are so many things to do, you can’t do it all in one trip, and I have been trying new things each trip--Things that would normally be out of my comfort zone. I’m not one for the ‘thrill rides’ but on recent trips, I tried Expedition Everest and the Tower of Terror. This time, I may try the Rocken’ Rollercoaster or Space Mountain. I mean, can you really say you’ve been to Disney as many times and never been on Space Mountain? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We are now inside the 15 month window, well within the acceptable window for planning a trip for normal people.. It looks like we are looking at a stay at the Boardwalk Villas, steps away from EPCOT, and a quick boat ride to Hollywood Studios. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’ve been looking for what types of restaurants we will eat at. One thing is for sure, we will do dinner one night at the Liberty Tree Tavern. This has become our favorite place to eat. Since we will be traveling with our new addition, we will be looking mostly at all-you-can-eat places so Evy can just eat off our plates. My mom is a huge seafood lover, so it seems that a meal at Cape May will be in order. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We like to not duplicate places we have eaten before until we have been everywhere, so we will be looking to try places we haven’t been to before, but we may end up duplicating meals. We still have time to figure things out. I am always open to suggestions. Where is your favorite place to eat? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp;</span><br /><br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Feel free to read my reviews from previous trip in earlier postings on this blog. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-91034450051447040082014-06-11T13:10:00.001-04:002014-06-27T19:51:27.491-04:00Announcing: Evelyn June Wildey<div class="sflyProductPreviewWidget" style="height: 494px; width: 425px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetTop" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/top.gif); height: 6px;"></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetCenter" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-y; height: 482px; padding: 0 6px 0 6px;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewLogo" style="height: 34px; padding: 14px 0 0 14px; width: 105px;"><img src="http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/logo.gif" style="background: #ffffff; border: none; box-shadow: none; padding: 0;" /></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewContainer" style="height: 350px; padding: 0; text-align: center;"><a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AcOGbhk0Ys2zkQ&amp;cid=SFLYOCWIDGET&amp;eid=115" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/prs/v1/0AcOGbhk0Ys2zg/0AcOGbhk0Ys2zuSg/p/67b0de21b3127d902548/JPEG/1402506624000/0/" style="background: #ffffff; border: none; box-shadow: none; padding: 0;" /></a></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewMessageContainer" style="background-color: #f4f4e9; height: 55px; line-height: 19px; padding: 15px 0 15px 0; text-align: center;"><div class="sflyProductPreviewTitle" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold;">Photo Card</div><div class="sflyProductPreviewViewCollection" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-seris; font-size: 13px;">View the entire <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery" rel="nofollow" style="color: #6666cc;">collection</a> of cards.</div><img border="0" height="1" src="https://os.shutterfly.com/b/ss/sflyshareprod/1/H.15/111?pageName=sharekey&amp;c1=msc&amp;c2=blogger" style="background: #ffffff; border: none; box-shadow: none; padding: 0;" width="1" /></div></div><div class="sflyProductPreviewWidgetBottom" style="background-image: url(http://cdn.staticsfly.com/img_/share/preview/msc/widget/bottom.gif); height: 6px;"></div></div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-69966832848640205852014-04-26T14:28:00.000-04:002014-04-26T14:28:34.680-04:00My Country 'Tis of Thee<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br /><br /><br />As I have mentioned in the last few posts, I have been traveling a lot lately. One thing that I have learned looking out the window of a plane at more than 15,000 feet up is that there are a lot of softball fields in the northeast! They are all over the place.. and not just at schools either.. I have seen complexes that have 4 or 6 or more fields close together.. I saw one today that was in a clearing of trees, with nothing really close..<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P3g-HjqBwKs/U1vpHuXj9rI/AAAAAAAAF2I/7VN5w6U5aeU/s1600/20140418_124007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-P3g-HjqBwKs/U1vpHuXj9rI/AAAAAAAAF2I/7VN5w6U5aeU/s1600/20140418_124007.jpg" height="200" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a>I love looking out the window of an airplane from the air. I love trying to pick out landmarks as I fly over them. I have seen Citi Field, the Statue of Liberty, Arthur Ashe stadium and more in New York.. The Charlotte Motor speedway in North Carolina.. the 3 sports venues in Philadelphia.. The Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery, the Mall in DC.. to name a few.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I have seen countless golf courses, strip mines and quarries, big rivers, small streams, big farms and big cities. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One thing I have to say is anyone who says that this country is overpopulated, has probably never left the island of Manhattan or LA county.. There is a whole lot of nothin’ out there. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This country is beautiful. I would encourage everyone to take a drive, get on a plane, go somewhere and see what this country has to offer. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to do it either… </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-6cyNOnRZ2H8%2FU1voFOj94TI%2FAAAAAAAAF0o%2FCeZGA9O4uqc%2Fs1600%2F20140325_104905.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6cyNOnRZ2H8/U1voFOj94TI/AAAAAAAAF0o/CeZGA9O4uqc/s1600/20140325_104905.jpg" height="150" title="Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></div><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--OwgxdKyPh8/U1vn-Y-jBYI/AAAAAAAAF0g/6wzqEev9N_M/s1600/20140325_104648.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--OwgxdKyPh8/U1vn-Y-jBYI/AAAAAAAAF0g/6wzqEev9N_M/s1600/20140325_104648.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a>I don’t care where you fall on the political spectrum, go see Washington DC. Flights to DCA (Reagan National) are reasonable, and there is a Metro stop right there, $6 will buy you a round trip fair to the Mall where you can get lost in the Smithsonians. No matter what your interests are, there is at least 1 that will pique your interest. From the Air and Space Museum (where you can see everything from the Wright Brothers plane to the Spirit of St Louis to a rocket that went into space) to the American History (where you can see everything from one of Google’s original server towers, to the dress that Nancy Reagan wore when her husband was inaugurated to a sunken battle ship from the Civil War to Miss Piggy) or Natural History (where you can see everything from the Hope Diamond to a moon rock to a T-Rex skeleton), not to mention all the art exhibits.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PBCSpzKgOFc/U1vobD0bFYI/AAAAAAAAF1I/N_6rLY47ggc/s1600/20140403_105921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PBCSpzKgOFc/U1vobD0bFYI/AAAAAAAAF1I/N_6rLY47ggc/s1600/20140403_105921.jpg" height="200" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Qpyob-WRYXI%2FU1voU061pJI%2FAAAAAAAAF1A%2FHdqIOqiGLwE%2Fs1600%2F20140403_105711.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Qpyob-WRYXI/U1voU061pJI/AAAAAAAAF1A/HdqIOqiGLwE/s1600/20140403_105711.jpg" height="200" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SIEE5BDZsr4/U1voRwfJpyI/AAAAAAAAF04/dFCkXZVNX0U/s1600/20140403_102252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SIEE5BDZsr4/U1voRwfJpyI/AAAAAAAAF04/dFCkXZVNX0U/s1600/20140403_102252.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k7KcRSBOqjU/U1vpLGyZ2QI/AAAAAAAAF2Q/gedyget72kU/s1600/IMG_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k7KcRSBOqjU/U1vpLGyZ2QI/AAAAAAAAF2Q/gedyget72kU/s1600/IMG_0016.JPG" height="200" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And you can’t forget about all of the national monuments. There are the ones that have been there for ever (Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson) as well as the new ones like FDR. Go honor our war dead at the Vietnam wall, the Korean War Memorial, the new WWII Memorial, and of course the rows and rows of fallen heroes at Arlington. I can’t help but wonder what the lone Marine guarding the Tomb of the Unknown is thinking as he marches back and forth. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vY-HAwBZBU/U1vpBr47ZFI/AAAAAAAAF2A/vuotqblMizg/s1600/20140417_084613.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6vY-HAwBZBU/U1vpBr47ZFI/AAAAAAAAF2A/vuotqblMizg/s1600/20140417_084613.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_LfEz8EHo1I/U1vniC-eSdI/AAAAAAAAFz4/shc-fuYuqmI/s1600/20140325_085754.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_LfEz8EHo1I/U1vniC-eSdI/AAAAAAAAFz4/shc-fuYuqmI/s1600/20140325_085754.jpg" height="200" title="Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s6tSfXkRiE4/U1vo2Yw_WOI/AAAAAAAAF1o/CHO3b3Qtlao/s1600/20140417_075902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-s6tSfXkRiE4/U1vo2Yw_WOI/AAAAAAAAF1o/CHO3b3Qtlao/s1600/20140417_075902.jpg" height="200" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8mjxK24f4-c/U1vni7XmKzI/AAAAAAAAFz8/slh4U2rvGro/s1600/20140325_085135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8mjxK24f4-c/U1vni7XmKzI/AAAAAAAAFz8/slh4U2rvGro/s1600/20140325_085135.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mpcv4XFnC2M/U1volpC_0nI/AAAAAAAAF1U/aRCoB9p75uY/s1600/20140407_084159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mpcv4XFnC2M/U1volpC_0nI/AAAAAAAAF1U/aRCoB9p75uY/s1600/20140407_084159.jpg" height="200" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bQU6U043mTk/U1vosgz22BI/AAAAAAAAF1g/CVm3kPS8AC8/s1600/20140407_085835.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bQU6U043mTk/U1vosgz22BI/AAAAAAAAF1g/CVm3kPS8AC8/s1600/20140407_085835.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dy0-RaJz8GI/U1vn2ygcZ5I/AAAAAAAAF0Q/thvztpLjhyI/s1600/20140325_093341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dy0-RaJz8GI/U1vn2ygcZ5I/AAAAAAAAF0Q/thvztpLjhyI/s1600/20140325_093341.jpg" height="200" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2shjTiuVW18/U1vnWdAJg5I/AAAAAAAAFzw/4f7_OLer2_Q/s1600/20140325_084921.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2shjTiuVW18/U1vnWdAJg5I/AAAAAAAAFzw/4f7_OLer2_Q/s1600/20140325_084921.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FC3bzIPkeAM/U1vo-wcXquI/AAAAAAAAF14/RMLgcTo7cvU/s1600/20140417_080406.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FC3bzIPkeAM/U1vo-wcXquI/AAAAAAAAF14/RMLgcTo7cvU/s1600/20140417_080406.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-q_OayJyXsMQ%2FU1vnsO5LPrI%2FAAAAAAAAF0I%2FiqCL3QpoQng%2Fs1600%2F20140325_090843.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-q_OayJyXsMQ/U1vnsO5LPrI/AAAAAAAAF0I/iqCL3QpoQng/s1600/20140325_090843.jpg" height="200" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="150" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /><br /><br />All that, and I haven’t’ mentioned the Capital or the White House. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-1O9dx4WWW2Y%2FU1voICPtqeI%2FAAAAAAAAF0w%2FHK5yQ3tKjJU%2Fs1600%2F20140403_092458.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1O9dx4WWW2Y/U1voICPtqeI/AAAAAAAAF0w/HK5yQ3tKjJU/s1600/20140403_092458.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Did I mention that all of these are free? (well.. you pay for them every April 15<sup>th</sup>.. but you can go in them free all year)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The only thing that disappoints me about the museums is how much of the stuff for sale in the countless gift shops is made in China. You would think that in our nation’s capital, they would make a point to stock American made products. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are some great places for photos, it is a great place to people watch. You can usually find a school group or 10 around. If you are there early, watch out for all the joggers!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Have you been to DC lately? What did you like most? Let me know in the comments! </div><span id="goog_337062236"></span><span id="goog_337062237"></span>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-51500757166071635662014-04-18T09:45:00.002-04:002014-04-18T09:45:52.146-04:00How to Fix the Airline Industry<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> 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table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As I write this, I am sitting in my room in the Hampton Inn in Alexandria, VA. Why am I in Alexandria, VA? I’m glad you asked. My flight home from Reagan National airport yesterday was canceled and there were no more flights available back to Rochester, so US Air sprung for the room and put me on a flight leaving later this morning. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As part of my new job, I am doing a lot of traveling, and am on 4-6 planes a week. I also am flying on several different airlines. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I have spent the previous 15 years in one customer service role or another, so it is kind of engrained in me. I can’t help but look for high levels of customer service and notice when I’m not getting it. Most of the time, I don’t think much of it. Other times, it sticks out like a sore thumb.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the past few months, I have been in 12 different airports on 6 different airlines. When you travel that much, it is unlikely that you won’t experience a problem. Sometimes, the airline personnel were helpful, others, left things to be desired. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For the most part, in my experience, the industry as a whole has taken on a very ‘oh well’ attitude when it comes to customer service. As with everything, there are exceptions. I know that margins are razor thin these days, and people are more careful on how they spend their money. I also understand that I am new to the industry, so I do not know all the regulations they have to deal with and the costs and expenses involved with these regulations, but good customer service is free.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is like one airline dropped the customer satisfaction and people didn’t revolt, so the rest of the industry followed suit, and now there is no going back. It makes me wonder if someone were to come along and make an airline that had decent flight routes that concentrated on customer satisfaction, rather than on the bottom line. What would that be like? Sure, it would most likely be more expensive to fly, but would enough passengers value the higher costs in exchange for better service?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Then it hit me.. what if Disney started an airline? I’m not saying they would make it like the cruise line or the theme parks, Minny and Daisy wouldn’t be your stewardesses, but just if they took a Disney attitude to the industry. Would the other airlines follow suit? Since everything Disney does is symbiotic in nature, they could make MCO (Orlando) and SNA (John Wayne) or even LAX (Los Angeles) their main hubs. That way, most flights to Disney World or Disneyland would be direct flights on Air Disney. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Sure it would be more expensive than flying on Southwest or JetBlue. Nothing Disney does is cheap, but in my trips to Disney, you don’t feel ripped off (with the only possible exception being the quick service meals). I always felt that I was getting taken care of, and the cast members always give the impression that they are always willing to go above and beyond to make sure you have a ‘magical’ day. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There will always be the people that use cost as their primary determining factor when choosing many things, but there are also the people who are willing to spend a little extra to get that little extra experience. </div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-5579263450073003772014-03-12T21:44:00.000-04:002014-03-12T21:44:08.980-04:00My New Career<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> 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</style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After almost 15 years in call centers, I have finally changed careers. I can’t really get into too many details because there is an element of undercover in my job, but it does involve a lot travel. I am about a week and a half into the new job and so far, I love it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I plan on writing a little about my experiences. Places I go, restaurants I eat at, things I see etc..</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Last week, I was in 8 different airports. While in the Buffalo airport, I saw a group of guys who just stepped off a plane from 1972. They were all dressed to the 9s, ready for a night at Studio 54. One guy had a powder blue puffy shirt, one had a patchwork sport coat, one had a hat. They all were different, but all were ready for a night on the town. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I took the chance to see a piece of American history, the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. I walked Uptown Charlotte. I sat in the cock pit of a 767, the one that has the fold flat seats in first class the ones that make a little bed, so you can sleep on those long international flights.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I will be writing about future adventures, without going into too much detail about why I am there. I don’t want to blow my cover.</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-55986713480065883582014-02-13T12:27:00.000-05:002014-02-13T12:27:15.222-05:00How to fix the NCAA<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It comes up all the time, there are strong opinions on both sides of the issue. Should college athletes get paid?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On the one hand, major universities make millions off of these players. Everything from TV contracts to jersey sales to ticket sales and more.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">On the other hand, if you pay them, who pays them? The university? Alumni? Sponsors/boosters? And if you do pay them, do they become employees of the university? If they are employees, and they get hurt in a game, do they get workers comp? </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Recently, a group of football players, petitioned the court for the right to organize as a union. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">First of all, let’s only consider men’s basketball and football for this. As much as you may love the women’s tennis team or the men’s lacrosse team, let’s be honest, the only sports that make money for the schools are Men’s BB and Football. The rest at best break even. The other day I saw part of an SU women’s basketball game, the stands were empty. A far cry in the Carrier Dome from when the men are playing. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another complaint that people have about the ‘<i>students’</i> that are just there as a stepping stone to the NFL or NBA. They play 1-3 years, go to class just enough to stay academically eligible. Oh sure, you hear stories about the Rhodes Scholar that played on the football team, or the point guard that graduated cum laude in engineering, but generally those are the exception, rather than the rule.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Never fear, I have the solution. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There should be a minor league set up. You can recruit or draft high school players to play in a 10-12 team league. They can play for as many as 4 years and get paid the equivalent of a college scholarship. Set up teams in mid markets, cities like Rochester, NY, Columbus, OH, Oklahoma City, OK, Amarillo, TX, etc.. once they have played in the league for 3 years, they are then eligible to be drafted into the NFL. Work with the NFL, not against it. We have seen what has happened to other organizations that tried to start a league to compete with the Shield.. (XFL, USFL, WLAF.. ). This league can also be a proving ground for coaches and coordinators. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">For the basketball players, treat it more like the way MLB is set up. Let players who have the skill, go right to the NBA, for those who need a year or two, use the NBA-DL as a minor league. The players can get drafted into this league out of high school, play for as many years as they need to get ready to take the next step. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This way players who really don’t have an interest in college other than as a stepping stone to the NFL or NBA aren’t taking roster spots from real student athletes who want to have the experience of playing in college while they are working towards their real goal of a job that isn’t in professional sports.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There will be pushback from the big schools that have a lot of money tied up in the big time college athletics, but it will return the NCAA back to what it was intended to be, another activity available to the students who would like to participate, either as players or as spectators. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As always, I welcome your thoughts on this.. agree with me or tell me why I’m a moron.. or somewhere in the middle..&nbsp;</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-55065684319943273382014-01-21T19:12:00.000-05:002014-01-21T19:12:41.991-05:00Another Week in the Most Magical Place in the World <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We recently returned from another trip to Walt Disney World. When we borrowed DVC points for our last trip (<a href="http://yedliw.blogspot.com/2013/10/our-latest-disney-trip.html" target="_blank">see the write up for that trip here</a>), we had enough left over for a week in a deluxe studio during the off-peak season, so we spent Kathy’s birthday at Saratoga Springs.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We wanted to go Saturday to Saturday, but due to the RunDisney events that weekend, every place we were looking at were booked up Saturday night, so we had to go Sunday to Saturday. Part of the reason we wanted to fly down on Saturday is because the Southwest flight (the only direct flight from ROC to MCO) on Saturday departs at 7.30a, whereas the flight on Sunday takes off at 2.55p. With a 2 ½ hr flight, it basically kills a whole day of your vacation. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div>On this trip, we were able to take advantage of the new Magic Bands and the My Disney Experience which includes pre-scheduling up to 3 Fast Pass+ (FP+) per day. We didn’t really have any issues. I was ready for there to be some glitches, especially after reading in the forums about other peoples’ snafus on their trips. The only real problem we had was that the finger that Kathy had used last time we were there to verify her fingerprint at the park entrance had a blister on it, and the scanner didn’t recognize it. When it didn’t work, the supervisor was able to reset the fingerprint and let us in. The next time we went into the park, it re-scanned the image, and we had no other issues. They had removed the legacy paper Fast Pass machines from Animal Kingdom in December, and they removed them from Magic Kingdom while we were down there this week. The plan is to remove them from Hollywood Studios and EPCOT next week. <br /> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GTgg5x5bxSg/Ut8F3beOZ8I/AAAAAAAAE5o/w-TnKxggBNk/s1600/20140117_201227.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GTgg5x5bxSg/Ut8F3beOZ8I/AAAAAAAAE5o/w-TnKxggBNk/s1600/20140117_201227.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wishes Fireworks</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We got to the hotel about 7. We dropped off our carry-on bags and headed to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived as the Wishes fireworks extravaganza was just starting. We made our way towards Main Street USA to watch the show. After the show, we headed towards Tomorrowland for something to eat. On this trip, we were looking for a low-key, (relatively) low-cost trip, so we didn’t set up any Advance Dining Reservations (ADR). We were just going to eat at the quick service places when we got hungry. Our first stop was at Cosmic Rays. This was a new place for me, I hadn’t eaten here before, and I wanted to watch Sonny Eclipse, the animatronic entertainer that sings and tells corny jokes. As we were standing in line, we found fellow Knighthawk fans! I got a cheeseburger, it was decent, but it was late in the day, so it wasn’t super fresh, it wasn’t bad.. I’ve had better burgers (and I’ve had worse). One thing I liked about this place is that they have the plastic cheese dispenser. Disney fries are good on their own, but add a healthy (?) dose of that hot gooey plastic cheese, and they are that much better! </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We only had a couple hours in the park before they closed for the night, but we were able to get on a few rides, including one of my favorites, the Jungle Cruise at night. I love how the flood lights on the boat light up the jungle. We also managed to fit in the Haunted Mansion, Pirates and a couple others before the park closed at 10. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M36-DraBLA8/Ut8F3SdX4kI/AAAAAAAAE5o/l94nkY14s-A/s1600/20140113_174125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M36-DraBLA8/Ut8F3SdX4kI/AAAAAAAAE5o/l94nkY14s-A/s1600/20140113_174125.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beauty and the Beast Stage Show</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Monday morning we headed over to Hollywood Studios. We had FP+ for Toy Story Midway Mania, Lights Motors Action! And the Great Movie Ride. We also caught the Indiana Jones stunt show, The One Man one dream exhibit about the life of Walt Disney, The Little Mermaid, The Beauty and the Beast Stage show and Fantasmic. This night was the extra magic hours at Hollywood, so after those not staying on property, we went on Toy Story again, a ride that during the day wait times in excess of 90 min or more are common, and only waited about 20 minutes. We ate lunch at the Backlot express, I had a cheeseburger that had onion strings and allegedly a horseradish sauce (I couldn’t taste it), but it was a good burger. Before we went into Fantasmic, I grabbed a Mickey pretzel with a cheese cup; Kathy got a Churro (and became a fan). </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Tuesday took us to EPCOT. Our FP+ were for Spaceship Earth, Sorin’ and Finding Nemo. The EMH were early at EPCOT that day, so we were able to get on Sorin’ early, and I was able to get on Test Track. We tried the new flavors at Club Cool. I am a bit disappointed that they got rid of the lemon honey flavor from Israel, but am not really sad to see the rest go. There wasn’t a clear cut favorite in the new batch of international flavors, but it was cool to try Peru’s Inca Kola again. We have a new favorite snack at EPCOT, we split an order of fish and chips from the Great Britain pavilion. It would be a bit small to be a meal for someone, but it makes a nice snack for 2 people. We also tried the new Spice Road Table restaurant at the Morocco pavilion. It had just opened a couple of days prior. They will be taking reservations in the future, but since they are in the ‘soft launch’ phase, we were able to walk right in. It is a Tapas style place that serves food from all over the Mediterranean. I got a sampler plate that featured a chicken roll, a lamb slider and a sausage. It wasn’t a lot of food for $16, and I didn’t love the flavors, so we probably won’t be going back on future trips. I stayed for the Illuminations show and met a cool couple from Jersey who had honeymooned at Disney 10 years ago, and this is their first trip back. We chatted for a while waiting for the show to start. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A-RqsXw_XkY/Ut8F3TXmGII/AAAAAAAAE5o/C07bCmFB4tY/s1600/20140115_084303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-A-RqsXw_XkY/Ut8F3TXmGII/AAAAAAAAE5o/C07bCmFB4tY/s1600/20140115_084303.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lions at the Kilimanjaro Safari</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Wednesday took us to Animal Kingdom. In my opinion, it is a <i>very</i> underappreciated park. We had FP+ for the Safari Ride, Kali River, and Finding Nemo. The EMH was early that day, so we went straight for an extra run on the safari ride; it is one of my favorite things to do at Disney. I am always able to get some great shots of the wildlife, even with my phone! When it came time to do the River ride, Kathy didn’t want to ride it since it was a bit cool that day. I was still game, so I headed over. When I got to the entrance, the cast member told me not to waste a FP+ on it, since we only can have 3 per day, there was no line. I was able to walk right on and change our FP+ for a different attraction, we added the Bug’s Life show to our docket (which we didn’t need to use a FP+ for either, but you can’t use FP+ for the same ride 2x in the same day, otherwise, we would have gone on the safari ride a 3<sup>rd</sup> time). </div><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fcYXvmR2dxc/Ut8JqVYe68I/AAAAAAAAE54/IlMJ8IZ-blE/s1600/20140115_143720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fcYXvmR2dxc/Ut8JqVYe68I/AAAAAAAAE54/IlMJ8IZ-blE/s1600/20140115_143720.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a>Another attraction that I make sure to hit at least once each trip to Animal Kingdom is the Flights of Wonder bird show. It is very well done (even if it is a bit heavy on the ‘save the planet’ propaganda...). I’ve written before that I am not really a fan of roller coasters, but I wanted to try the Expedition Everest at least once, to say that I did, so I headed over by myself. The wait time wasn’t too bad, I was able to get on in about 30 min or so. The ride is very well done. The queue takes you through a travel office to board a train to the mountains, right through the sacred Yeti territory. It is a very fast, winding coaster that goes in and out of the Mt Everest, so it goes from light to dark and back very quickly. Would I ride it again? In a word, no. But I am glad I did ride it. When I <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v3hb1URzOR8/Ut8J8HAOsvI/AAAAAAAAE6A/veZYMzr9tao/s1600/20140115_083929.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v3hb1URzOR8/Ut8J8HAOsvI/AAAAAAAAE6A/veZYMzr9tao/s1600/20140115_083929.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></div>got off the ride, I needed to take a minute, so I found a spot in the shade to sit for a spell. After I recovered, we headed over to Dinoland USA for a meal at the Restaurantasorus. I wasn’t really up to the regular menu, so I ordered the corndog nugget meal. It included little corndog nuggets, fries, apple juice and grapes, all served in a plastic bucket with a shovel that you would take to the beach. It was pretty cool, and with the condition of my stomach, it worked out great! Since the park closes early (5p) in the winter, we headed back to the room to relax. We grabbed dinner at the Artist Pallet, and relaxed around the resort. We each got the Wednesday special, chicken parm. It’s tough to mess that up.. it was served with penne. I would have liked a little more pasta, but it wasn’t a bad meal. After eating, we wandered around the resort, looking at the community center, we walked by a couple of the pools on site, then back to the room to relax.<br /> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Thursday morning found us back at the Magic Kingdom. EMH were early that morning, so we </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4C0JpOeEX2c/Ut8KN3_KEdI/AAAAAAAAE6I/ZkC3295D_Ag/s1600/20140117_111630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4C0JpOeEX2c/Ut8KN3_KEdI/AAAAAAAAE6I/ZkC3295D_Ag/s1600/20140117_111630.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Haunted Mansion</td></tr></tbody></table>headed over to Peter Pan, since that ride often queues up lengthy wait times during the day. Our FP+ that day were for Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid and the Jungle Cruise. We took a leisurely day around the park, having done most of what we wanted to do. We made sure to hit up the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, our old standby Carrousel of Progress, and of course the People Mover. Our dining choices this day took us to Gaston’s Tavern for the cinnamon roll (this has become a ‘must do’ for me, ranking right up there with the Dole whip float), we had lunch at the Village Haus (I had the chicken ceaser salad and we ate on the balcony overlooking the main dining floor) and dinner at Pecos Bills (I had the taco salad). After dinner we headed over to the Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary for the exclusive Top of the World Lounge.<br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JBhsMAWK-xs/Ut8KbJEy9eI/AAAAAAAAE6Q/NnXfkFqzwWw/s1600/20140117_110543.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JBhsMAWK-xs/Ut8KbJEy9eI/AAAAAAAAE6Q/NnXfkFqzwWw/s1600/20140117_110543.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Thunder Mountain Railroad</td></tr></tbody></table>Admission to this lounge is limited to members of the DVC. I had just found out about this place a couple of weeks prior to our trip. It was Kathy’s birthday, so I wanted to do something special. The lounge was busy, but not packed. We ordered the soft pretzel and the 7 layer cake. By the time we finished eating the snacks, it was time for the fireworks to start, so we headed out to the balcony, 16 floors up, with a clear view of the Kingdom. It made for a great view of Wishes, especially since they play the music from the show over the sound system on the deck. The park was open for another couple hours after the fireworks, but we were ready to call it a night, so we headed back to the hotel. One thing we had done most days this trip is take a break in the mid afternoon and head back to the room to relax before heading back to the park. On this day, while waiting for the bus to go back to the Magic Kingdom, we decided to see if there was a table available for breakfast the next morning. Using the My Disney Experience app on my phone, I was able to secure a reservation for breakfast ‘Ohana. <br /> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">We started Friday off at breakfast at ‘Ohana. We took the bus from Saratoga Springs to the Magic </div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BFlkJ_i90z0/Ut8KnSNcIAI/AAAAAAAAE6Y/zlto7rEZVxc/s1600/20140117_103313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BFlkJ_i90z0/Ut8KnSNcIAI/AAAAAAAAE6Y/zlto7rEZVxc/s1600/20140117_103313.jpg" height="200" width="150" /></a>Kingdom; we then boarded the Monorail to the Polynesian. We were a bit early because we wanted to make sure we allowed enough time for transit. We walked down to the lagoon and checked out the pool, beach, and the docks where the boat rentals are (something to keep in mind for future visits). By this time, it was time to check in for breakfast. They offer the chance to have your picture taken, that they will then try to sell you, we skipped that part. We didn’t want to pay $35 for a 5x7 of us. We had eaten dinner at ‘Ohana on our last trip and I didn’t love it, but I wanted to try it for breakfast, and I’m glad we did. It was a lot of fun. The format for breakfast is an all you can eat feast, served family style. It isn’t a buffet; they bring the food to you, similar to the way dinner is at the Liberty Tree Tavern. They sat us down with a basket of sweet breads and took our drink orders. Moments later, out comes a platter of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes along with a plate of fresh cut fruit (pineapple, raspberries and melon) and their special juice. It is a blend of orange, mango, guava and papaya. It was very tasty. They also bring out Mickey waffles (small Belgian waffles shaped like Mickey Mouse). They keep bringing the stuff out as much as you want. This is also a character breakfast, which normally isn’t a big deal for me, but it was fun to have pictures with Lelo and Stich as well as Mickey and Pluto. Our general rule is to not repeat a dining experience, until w<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0GLEqyQ1Lw/Ut8K0nNuIUI/AAAAAAAAE6g/5n3vChbRK48/s1600/20140117_101400-MOTION.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h0GLEqyQ1Lw/Ut8K0nNuIUI/AAAAAAAAE6g/5n3vChbRK48/s1600/20140117_101400-MOTION.gif" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a>e have tried all of the ones that interest us, but we do have an exception (Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner), I think that this one will be added to the ‘no duplicate exemption’ list. After a few pictures with the Tikis and Maoris, we rolled ourselves to the Magic Kingdom for our last day in the parks for this trip. <br /> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Friday was originally scheduled to be an EPCOT day, since that is where the EMH hours were, but we figured we had done everything we wanted to do at EPCOT, so we decided to change all of our FP+ over to the Magic Kingdom. We had the Jungle Cruise, Mickey’s Philharmagic and Buzz Lightyear. Since we had such a large breakfast, we really didn’t need to eat much else until later that day. We did make sure to hit up Aloha Isle to get a Dole Whip float. It isn’t a trip to Disney without having at least 1 of those bad boys. We made sure to hit all the attractions that we wanted to, since it will be a while before we are back. Around dinner time, we hit up Pecos Bill’s again for a taco salad. After a quick run through the Swiss Family Robinson treehouse, we hunkered down for the castle light show and Wishes. We picked a spot towards the end of Main Street USA inside a taped off ‘viewing’ area. We had a slightly obstructed view of the castle, so we couldn’t see the light show all that well, but it was a great spot to watch the fireworks. There were people coming and going, and a whole lot more not moving, waiting and watching. There was a single cast member trying to direct traffic and </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TzwSm4APg4E/Ut8MVpahplI/AAAAAAAAE6s/H4wxdRkexDA/s1600/20140117_201224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TzwSm4APg4E/Ut8MVpahplI/AAAAAAAAE6s/H4wxdRkexDA/s1600/20140117_201224.jpg" height="150" title="Picture by Matt Wildey" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wishes Fireworks</td></tr></tbody></table>fighting a losing battle. After the show ended, there was a mass exodus out of the park, despite it being open for another 2 hours. When the crowd thinned, we headed back into the park to hit those last few attractions we wanted to make sure we got in. As we were heading back into the park, they played the announcement that they were going to be starting the light show in 10 minutes. I wasn’t sure if they were really going to, or if someone hit the wrong button. Turns out, they did play it again. This time, we had a prime viewing spot and most of the people had already left for the night, so we got a great view of the show. It is a very cool effect. It really brings the castle to life. At the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, I was picked to play Sully, and was up on the big screen. <br /> <div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Saturday morning, we made arrangements for bell services to pick up our luggage. We checked into our airline then shopped in the gift shop for a couple of last minute souvenirs. At 10, we boarded the Magic Express back to the MCO to await our journey home. Disney provides a nice service, you can check into your airline and check your bags at your hotel, that way when you get to the airport, you just have to go through security, then to the terminal and get on your plane and go home. I do like the new videos they play on the Magic Express busses. They show parts of the park that you may not already be aware of. On our return flight, the plane was equipped with Wi-Fi. The planes that have this feature allow you to stream live TV on several channels, courtesy of Dish Network. It is a nice way to pass the time while you are in the air. </div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">All in all, it was a good trip. We hit everything we wanted to. We got a good Disney fix. Hopefully it will be enough to hold us over until our next trip, which looks like it won’t be until the fall/winter of 2015 or the spring of 2016.</div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="JUSTIFY" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">More of the pictures I took can be found <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10202893779927639.1073741828.1296717322&amp;type=1&amp;l=83135cbd45" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-29340922437286959982013-12-31T10:45:00.000-05:002013-12-31T10:45:45.129-05:00Another Year in the Books...<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This time of the year, it seems that there are only 2 types of stories out there. We have the ‘Year in review’ and we have the ‘What to look forward to in (insert new year here)’</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">People wax poetic on this -gate, or that –palooza, then they put on their best Carnac the Magnificent to predict what will happen in the next 52 weeks. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Some of the ‘Best/worst (fill in the blank) of (fill in the year)’ reports are well done. They are researched, well produced and have valid arguments for why this made it and that one didn’t. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Others are superficial. They are hastily thrown together to fill time or space. They are filled with things that most people wouldn’t consider legitimate contenders. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I have difficulty writing these sorts of lists off the top of my head, because I don’t always remember what happened this year.. Did it happen this year, or last.. was it significant enough to remember? When it comes to movies, I can’t write a good one, because I don’t see that many new movies. I can’t do best song, because I am old and boring, and only listen to talk radio, so I couldn’t tell you who sang what because I probably on heard a 15 second clip of the song at the last Knighthawks or Amerks game. I have no idea what the fox said.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That said, in no particular order, the best movies that I saw from 2013 are American Hustle, Hunger Games, and The Way Way Back. Movies worth seeing: Now You See Me, Thor, RED 2, Enders Game, and Hangover 3. Don’t waste your time: Anchorman, Superman, GI Joe. I am probably forgetting something. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Some personal highlights (again, in no particular order) of the year include a trip to Disney, on a drive to America to get props for our 4<sup>th</sup> of July, we stopped at the Corning glass museum, (definitely worth a trip if you are within driving distance.) We spent a day at Stony Brooke State Park, we spent a few days in Niagara Falls, The Knighthawks won a 2<sup>nd</sup> consecutive championship, a new nephew was introduced. Oh yea, I found out I am going to be the father of a new baby girl in May.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Things to look forward to in the coming year would be another strong season for the Knighthawks (including an expanded regular season, and a new play-off format). We will be going to Disney for a low-key trip, last one for a while (we don’t plan on getting back down there until late 2015 or early 2016). I think that the growing distrust of Big Government (particularly Obamacare) will lead to some changes in the Mid-Term elections this fall. NY will continue to become the nanny-state of all nanny states until it snaps. There will be a growing call for the state to split NYC off into its own state (but it won’t happen any time soon)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What do you think will happen in 2014? What were your highlights of 2013? Share them in the comments!</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-49200640442593572472013-12-19T16:52:00.000-05:002013-12-19T16:52:03.194-05:00Hockey at Frontier Field???<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you have driven down Plymouth Ave or 490 through downtown Rochester during the last week, you probably saw something a bit curious, lights on at the baseball stadium. Did they start playing winter ball up north?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Nope, they are playing outdoor hockey! It is the Frozen Frontier. It is a 10 day festival that kicked off with an Amerks (AHL) game, and includes 3 college games, an Amerks/Sabres alumni game, several high school games as well as rec-league games and blocks of time sold to sponsors for open skate time. This is a joint venture between the Red Wings, Amerks and Sabres. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I had the opportunity to go to the Amerks game Friday night, it was the kick-off of the outdoor hockey festival. As you can imagine, December in Rochester isn’t exactly balmy.. The scoreboard thermometer showed a game time temp of 20, and it only went down from there.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qhFhWO8C4WU/UrNn4Bw8QuI/AAAAAAAACJ8/REoVkanR0iw/s1600/20131213_222156.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qhFhWO8C4WU/UrNn4Bw8QuI/AAAAAAAACJ8/REoVkanR0iw/s200/20131213_222156.jpg" title="Photo by M Wildey" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Kes23WD-hc/UrNn4fKBEqI/AAAAAAAACKE/rLJu91b-Chs/s1600/20131213_222224.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--Kes23WD-hc/UrNn4fKBEqI/AAAAAAAACKE/rLJu91b-Chs/s200/20131213_222224.jpg" title="Photo by M Wildey" width="200" /></a>As we approached the stadium, they had frozen the specially designed throw-back jerseys for each team into blocks of ice as well as a logo ice sculpture of the logo of the festival. They also had those mobile spotlights that are used at special events to draw attention to the location. When I got there, it was lightly snowing, which made for the coolest effect of the snow in the spot beams. It was a nice touch.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zEc5sYpA_0g/UrNn2bMWJgI/AAAAAAAACJc/1N8ZeKiPEgs/s1600/20131213_182340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zEc5sYpA_0g/UrNn2bMWJgI/AAAAAAAACJc/1N8ZeKiPEgs/s200/20131213_182340.jpg" title="Photo by M Wildey" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Special sweaters worn by the Amerks</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">They had set up a warming station tent down the walk way on the 3<sup>rd</sup> base side, that had a pre-game party with a band. They had also brought in several port-a-potties, since when they built the stadium 15 years ago, they didn’t predict having a winter event, so the plumbing is turned off at the end of the Red Wings season. &nbsp;Lucky for me, my tickets were in the Perch suite, so we were ok, the suite level bathrooms were good to go.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3aqLBna5zA/UrNn2io2ZBI/AAAAAAAACJY/SuGHcsOF6vc/s1600/20131213_174651.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-l3aqLBna5zA/UrNn2io2ZBI/AAAAAAAACJY/SuGHcsOF6vc/s200/20131213_174651.jpg" title="Photo by M Wildey" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the Perch</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iawqSOPx5g8/UrNn3DdR6oI/AAAAAAAACJw/SlrkOQzx7z8/s1600/20131213_185313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iawqSOPx5g8/UrNn3DdR6oI/AAAAAAAACJw/SlrkOQzx7z8/s200/20131213_185313.jpg" title="photo by M Wildey" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brother and I</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The game had an announced attendance of 11k+, and it was a great atmosphere. From where we were sitting, we could see the lines of cars on both Plymouth and State St coming to the game, and could see cars parking on the very top level of the WXXI garage at High Falls. The traffic was steady through most of the first period.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The Colors were presented in a very respectful manner and the national anthem was sung in a very powerful way by a very talented young girl who is no stranger to singing before large crowds. She sang the anthem at a Sabres game that was nationally televised. The pre-game festivities included fireworks timed to the ‘rocket’s red glare’ line of the Star Spangled Banner. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VhCuge1Qmhk/UrNn3b2EF9I/AAAAAAAACJk/NcTqQrfwpZM/s1600/20131213_191559.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VhCuge1Qmhk/UrNn3b2EF9I/AAAAAAAACJk/NcTqQrfwpZM/s200/20131213_191559.jpg" title="Photo by M Wildey" width="200" /></a>The game turned out to be exactly the type of game you’d hope for in this sort of event. It featured division rivals that flat don’t like each other and had had a rather feisty game just a couple days prior. Early on, the gloves were dropped and that just got the crowd going. The Amerks jumped out to an early lead, only to see that go away and then turn it into a 3-1 deficit. The Amerks went to work in the 3<sup>rd</sup>, and not only tied it, but pulled ahead 4-3. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The game seemed all but over when the Lake Erie Monsters took a penalty with about 3 minutes left, down a goal, but they didn’t give up. They fought off the power play and then got one of their own with about 50 seconds left. They then pulled the goalie and skated 6 on 4 for the rest of regulation. The Amerks did the best they could to keep the puck out of their zone, but being out numbered, the visitors managed to put the puck in the back of the net with what appeared to be no time on the clock. The officials gathered, and they went to the review, and it was determined that the goal was scored with .1 on the clock to tie the game.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">5 minutes of overtime were scoreless, so they went on to the shoot out. The goalies both prevailed in round 1, the Monsters scored in both round 2 and 3, leaving the Amerks down 2-0, with only 2 skaters to go. The 4<sup>th</sup> Monster skater comes up, if he scores, game over. He doesn’t. Now it’s the Amerk’s turn. If they don’t score, game over. They do. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JsGosNG2Y0w/UrNn4NxNPDI/AAAAAAAACKA/nSq6gXo-Tgs/s1600/20131213_220811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JsGosNG2Y0w/UrNn4NxNPDI/AAAAAAAACKA/nSq6gXo-Tgs/s200/20131213_220811.jpg" title="Photo by M Wildey" width="150" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b4irbpytaGQ/UrNn3vA8EfI/AAAAAAAACJo/cp6kIwe6axw/s1600/20131213_220803.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b4irbpytaGQ/UrNn3vA8EfI/AAAAAAAACJo/cp6kIwe6axw/s200/20131213_220803.jpg" title="Photo by M Wildey" width="150" /></a>Same scenario for round 5, The Monsters don’t and the Amerks do. Now we are tied at 2 after 5 rounds. This time Amerks captain Matt Ellis is not to be denied. He nets the game winning shot and sent the Rochester fans home happy, after the fireworks, that is. From the sounds in the crowd, there were more than a few who made the drive up I90 from Cleveland to root on their Monsters. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I haven’t had the chance to make it to any of the other games, and with my schedule, probably won’t. I would have liked to have gone to the RIT men’s game, but it wasn’t to be. I can’t imagine the experience it would be for those high school players that got to change in the Red Wings locker room, then play in that venue. It is something they will remember for the rest of their lives.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I am glad I got to be a part of this, even if just as a fan. I hope that they don’t do it every year. It is something that should be kept as a special event, and not repeated too often. Maybe next time, they can do it at Sahlen’s stadium. It would have provided better sight lines for the fans.</div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-33635433225667393302013-12-16T13:10:00.000-05:002013-12-16T13:10:16.663-05:00Who Dropped the ball?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">By now you have heard about the sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela’s funeral last week. Here in Rochester, home of the NTID (National Technical Institute for the Deaf), all of the local reporters went out and found anyone they could stick a microphone in front of to say how offended they were at the nerve of this guy who had the stones to fake his way through the service.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I think that people have a right to be upset and outraged, but not for the reason everyone is getting upset at. First of all.. how do we know that it isn’t a different sign language? It might be that the rest of the world doesn’t use ALS (<i>American</i> Sign Language). Perhaps, he is using a different version of sign language. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The thing that gets me upset at this is how did this guy get that close to our President? This guy has been arrested for burning someone to death, and the courts declined to prosecute because he was mentally unfit to stand trial. Those of you who know me, know that I am among the last to say anything good about Obama, but this is bigger than that. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Someone dropped the ball on this one. Probably several someones. First of all, how did the agency that picks and assigns the interpreter pass this guy? Did he have the right credentials to be in the pool? Also, doesn’t our Secret Service validate the people who are going to be that close to the President? What would have happened if someone got to him and got him to wear a vest? He would have been able to take out several of the world’s leaders in one shot. Then we would be talking about something other than a guy who was faking his way through signing some speeches at a funeral.</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-90297765737311855842013-12-02T15:28:00.002-05:002013-12-02T15:28:58.666-05:00Let's all be Honest..<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Ok, I know I am going to get some heat here, but I am going to call BS on something. In the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, you had people coming out against the retailers that were going to get a jump on holiday shopping by opening on Thanksgiving.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There were Facebook pages devoted to boycotting the retailers like Kohls, Wal Mart, and Target that would be opening as early as 6pm Thursday. Several of these stores wouldn’t be closing until Friday night. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The complaint was 2 fold.. first of all, people should be spending the holidays with their families, not fighting other consumers for that knickknack or special deal that you just have to have, or Christmas would be ruined.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The other reason is concern for the poor retail worker who had to leave their families, so you could go fight with other consumers for that knickknack or other special deal. They should be able to stay at home so they can watch the parade or the games with their families. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is where I call BS. If you really cared about people being able to sit home with their families, then you wouldn’t watch the game. Or do the employees at the tv studios, networks, stadiums, etc.. not count?</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you really cared about people being able to stay home, then you would stay home and keep your TV off.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let’s not forget that there is consumer demand for both. If people didn’t want to go shopping, or watch the game or parade, they wouldn’t and there wouldn’t be a need for those people to work on Thanksgiving. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’m sick of people using retail employees as pawns for their own political agendas, whether it is for boosting minimum wage, to controlling hours, or increasing union membership.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let’s call a spade a spade. If you don’t want to go shopping on Thanksgiving Day, then don’t. But don’t say it is because you want the stores’ employees to have the option to stay home with their families, then you better not watch the game or parade. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And, if enough people agree with you, then next year, the stores won’t open until Friday morning.&nbsp;</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-72225505760307247432013-11-22T23:45:00.001-05:002013-11-22T23:45:49.488-05:00How the Rattlers can be Successfull in Rochester<div style="text-align: justify;">The Major League Lacrosse <a href="http://www.majorleaguelacrosse.com/game-schedule/" target="_blank">schedule</a> was released today, and for now, I was a little surprised to see the Rattlers were still on the schedule, and that their home games would still be in Rochester. There was a new team and a former city is now dark, but the relocated team was not the Rattlers (Hamilton will now be playing as the Florida Launch). </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Rattlers have never been a strong draw in Rochester, despite being an original team in the MLL, and having won a championship in 2008. For some reason, they can't draw as well as their indoor counterparts, the Knighthawks. The location of the stadium is a cop-out in my book. Sure it's not in the best part of town.. but there are a lot worse places, and I have never heard of anyone having an issue at or around a game. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The team moved to Toronto then Hamilton the year after their championship season. A few years later, the struggling Chicago Machine relocated to Rochester a few years later.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Except for Denver, Boston and Chesapeake, who each averaged over 8k attendance per home game last year, the league overall doesn't draw well. The league average last year was just over 5k with only 3 of the 8 teams in the league over 4k. Most teams are closer to the 3k range. Rochester was under 2k last year. Part of the reason the numbers were so low were inconvenient times of the home games, and having 'home' games down south. What can be done to boost them back to the 3k+ that they were at last the season before, or even push it into the Denver/Boston range? The question may be better than the answer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my experience, most people know who the Knighthawks are, but few but the diehard lacrosse fans know who the Rattlers are. Part of that is that the Hawks have been in town for 20 years, and have won multiple championships, including the last 2. The Rattlers have played in 11 of the last 13 years. They have had 3 venues that they have called their 'home field'. They started in Frontier Field. This was not a good fit, so they moved to Bishop Kearney. When Sahlen Stadium, (then Paetec Park) opened in 2006, they called it home.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let me start off by saying I have no sports marketing experience. I have no idea what kind of money the suggestions I have will cost. I am just a season ticket holder who doesn't want to see the Rattlers leave town again, because if they do, they probably won't ever be back. Many of my ideas are probably not feasible, I am just kind of spit-balling here. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What can they do to grow exposure? I think that regionalizing the team would be a good place to start. Work with the success of the Syracuse Orange and other local colleges. Maybe have 1 game a year in the Carrier Dome. Especially with 6 former Orange on the roster, not to mention the 3 former Hobart Statesmen and lone RIT Tiger.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another direction to expand to is to reach out to local high schools. Many high school coaches are hesitant to encourage their players to watch the indoor game because off the many differences, but they shouldn't have the same trepidations with the outdoor game. There are some minor differences (2 point line and the shot clock being the two big ones), but it is basically the same game.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I know that the NLL and MLL are separate entities, but I think that there is an opportunity to form a symbiotic relationship in cities/regions where there are are teams in both leagues (currently this is a short list, only Denver an Rochester). Many players play in both leagues. They should push the opener back to Memorial day. Opening in April is too early. None of the teams are at full strength before the NLL season is done, and the rookies don't join their new pro teams until the end of the college season, and championship weekend is Memorial Day.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I understand that this league will most likely never be more than a part time league, but by spending a little on marketing (billboards, buses, radio/tv spots)&nbsp; and getting players out in the communities that they play in can get the league and local teams some good press. Watch what Soccer Sam is doing. Send players to local radio stations for some in-studio interviews where they can give away tickets, send them to Wegmans, send them to the malls. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fan involvement is key. Make it about more than just the game. Take a page out of Dan Mason's book. Throw tee-shirts into the crowd, play stupid human trick sort of games for prizes. Have 2 for 1 ticket promos. Wrap a few fans' cars (like the 'Hawks did a few years ago, I would be the first to volunteer). What do Denver, Boston and Chesapeake of the MLL and Buffalo and Colorado of the NLL do different than the rest of the teams in their respective leagues do? </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like I said, I am by no means an expert on these sorts of things. I am just a fan, and these are some ideas. Hopefully, a few of them will give one of the experts an idea and attendance numbers will improve. </div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-84066982960029997282013-11-20T13:43:00.000-05:002013-11-20T13:43:25.256-05:00Disney's Hollywood Studios<span style="text-align: justify;">Our final stop on the trip around the World is Disney’s Hollywood Studios. When it first opened, it was actually used as an animation studio, but any movie production has long since been moved to other locations.&nbsp;</span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-09Y3F2e62J4/Uo0AgiyAK9I/AAAAAAAACIc/zIt25lvuF8U/s1600/SF.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-09Y3F2e62J4/Uo0AgiyAK9I/AAAAAAAACIc/zIt25lvuF8U/s200/SF.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">turn around, you are in San Francisco!</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_zgeZ3qH7kw/Uo0AgYYvNOI/AAAAAAAACIo/VGIhnNrmE6U/s1600/NY.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_zgeZ3qH7kw/Uo0AgYYvNOI/AAAAAAAACIo/VGIhnNrmE6U/s200/NY.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Manhattan..</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At Hollywood Studios, you are immersed in all things movies. There is a street set that you can walk down where if you look one direction, you are clearly in Manhattan, but when you turn around, you are transported to San Francisco. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As you walk around the park, you will run into mini-scenes. You will have a movie diva talking about the ‘little people that helped make it all possible’, or you will have a prop master chasing someone who just stole a prop,&nbsp; or a director scolding the ‘extras’ (park visitors) for getting in the shot. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There aren’t many rides in this park, but the ones they have are some of the most popular at all of Disney World. One I haven’t &nbsp;ridden (and don’t plan on..), one I have (and may or may not ride again) and the 3<sup>rd</sup>we couldn’t get on last year, but I was able to ride 2x this year. &nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">These rides (in order) are the Rocken’ Roller Coaster with Aerosmith. I love the technology and planning that they put into creating this ride, but it is not my bag, so I probably won’t ever actually experience it. It is a roller coaster that doesn’t have a giant main hill to start. It starts off with magnets thrusting the car forward to 60mph right off the bat, all with Steven Tyler singing in your ears.&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sg6hvAlWLds/Uo0Ag-goYXI/AAAAAAAACI0/KuoyWD9kW08/s1600/ToT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Sg6hvAlWLds/Uo0Ag-goYXI/AAAAAAAACI0/KuoyWD9kW08/s200/ToT.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Next is the Tower of Terror. This is an hotel that was struck by lightning one Halloween night and all the guests mysteriously vanished, now the elevators are out of control. The engineering that went into this ride is great as well. It is a different ride every time. Basically the ride is, you are on this possessed elevator that will rise and drop at random. The amount of drops, and the distance of the drops are randomly generated each ride, so one time you will have several smaller drops, then the next you will have fewer longer drops. They left no detail out. It was more fun than I expected it to be, but as I said, this isn’t my kind of ride, so not sure I will brave it again. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The 3<sup>rd</sup> of the big popular rides it the Toy Story Midway Mania. When we went last year, we only spent part of a day there, and the Fast Passes were closed for the night. This year, the first day we went to the park, we went straight there to get FP, but they were already giving out fast passes for 4.30p, and our dinner reservation was at 5, not at that park, so that wouldn’t work out. When we passed by about an hour or so later, they had all the FP machines covered. They had given out all the FP they were going to for that day. &nbsp;on our 2<sup>nd</sup> visit to the park, we got there earlier, and were able to get the fast passes and were able to ride that day. It was a much lighter crowd day, so I was actually able to get FP for another ride later that day! On this ride, it is a 3D ride that you play a few different carnival midway type games with a virtual shooter on your car. You play a ring toss game.. throw baseballs at plates.. throw darts.. etc.. it keeps score and gives you a virtual prize at the end. It is a lot of fun, and ranks as a ‘must do’ at Hollywood studios. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Some of the other rides are the Great Movie Ride, which takes you through some of the most iconic scenes from some of the most famous movies of all time. Another is the Backlot Tour, where you watch a scene of a boat being attacked by an unseen plane that is being produced including explosions and other special effects, you then go through a prop warehouse with props from all sorts of movies, you then board a tram which takes you through a bone yard of vehicles, through a prop shop, a wardrobe shop, past the greenhouses, and through a set that shows special effects of fire bursts and a flash flood.&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T5Pi3AWRYYs/Uo0AgCBb_8I/AAAAAAAACIU/VMQlgDOA-1Q/s1600/ATAT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T5Pi3AWRYYs/Uo0AgCBb_8I/AAAAAAAACIU/VMQlgDOA-1Q/s200/ATAT.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another favorite is the Star Tours. This is a motion simulator that takes you all over the Star Wars universe. It is a different trip every time. you will get 3 of 9 possible scenes. It is in 3D and there is movement, and it feels pretty real. I enjoyed it when I rode it last year, but this year it was too much for me (I know.. I'm old and boring..). &nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XztXvBu9zB8/Uo0AgA5LstI/AAAAAAAACIQ/hjWCwNj_jEY/s1600/Muppet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XztXvBu9zB8/Uo0AgA5LstI/AAAAAAAACIQ/hjWCwNj_jEY/s200/Muppet.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fountain outside of the Muppet Show</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are several shows to watch at the park as well, with something for everyone. For the kids, there is Disney Jr, and the Little Mermaid. For the action junkie, there is Lights! Motors! Action! (a car stunt show), and the Indiana Jones stunt show (they show how movies like Raiders was made) and the American Idol Experience, a version of the show. And for everyone, there is a 3D Muppet movie! A museum of the history of Walt, including where he grew up, what he did and the things he developed is a very interesting stop. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-11hbelVD-qM/Uo0AgAcUBSI/AAAAAAAACIY/-1dHSZq2_mM/s1600/HS+BAH.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-11hbelVD-qM/Uo0AgAcUBSI/AAAAAAAACIY/-1dHSZq2_mM/s200/HS+BAH.jpg" width="132" /></a>Overall, this would rank as my 4<sup>th</sup>favorite of the Disneyworld parks. I enjoy the park, but wouldn’t be super disappointed if we didn’t get a chance to spend a lot of time there on trips. There are a few good photo-ops and character meet and greets, and it is all about movies. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of these years, we will get to the water parks and golf courses, but I haven’t been yet. As always, if there is something Disneyworld that you would like to share, please do, and I would love to answer any questions you have (to the best of my ability).</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-14800412274305163342013-11-18T07:28:00.000-05:002013-11-18T07:28:17.733-05:00Employee Polyester Costumes Of Torture. Part 2<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Last time I went over the front half of EPCOT, also known as Future World. In this posting, I am going to go over the back half, the World's Showcase.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The World Showcase features pavilions representing 11 countries from around the world. When I go, I typically go counter clockwise around the lagoon, but most reviews go clockwise. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Each of the pavilions are host to gift shops with items from the homeland and restaurants with native food. Most have both table service and quick service as well as snacks.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RIKG8I54TCI/UooHRufC5bI/AAAAAAAACHw/ol8-CCsZDXI/s1600/AS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RIKG8I54TCI/UooHRufC5bI/AAAAAAAACHw/ol8-CCsZDXI/s200/AS.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Air Supply</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Each fall, the selection of food is greatly expanded during the Food and Wine fest. That just happened to be going on during our last trip. There are several temporary kiosks that serve a variety of different samplings of both food and beverages. Due to the way the schedule shook out, we really didn't get a chance to see much of the festival. In addition to the food, they put on a concert series, called the Eat to the Beat concert series. They bring in several bands to do a couple concerts a night for a couple nights. We got to see Air Supply. I was a bit skeptical about them, but I have to say, those old guys can still rock!</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last year, we ate at Germany and at Japan. I thoroughly enjoyed both meals.&nbsp; Germany is a buffet featuring all kinds of sausages, and anything German you can imagine. It was more than just the food, they had German musicians and singers to entertain while you eat. There was even a dance floor for those who felt inspired to work off some of the schnitzel. Japan is a hibachi grill. Always a good show watching the onion volcano. Watch for flying rice! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H0QPqbPg_f0/UooHRnHuk2I/AAAAAAAACH4/hVa-HBvrhgA/s1600/tera+cotta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H0QPqbPg_f0/UooHRnHuk2I/AAAAAAAACH4/hVa-HBvrhgA/s200/tera+cotta.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terra Cotta Warriors from China</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Each of the pavilions is sort of a museum of that country's culture, art, and history. A couple have rides (Mexico and Norway), a couple have movies (Canada and China) and the US one has a multi-media show similar to the Hall of Presidents from Magic Kingdom. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As you walk through, watch for performers. Anything from candy making, to a band to acrobats and more.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cVdEw_Y5djI/UooHRfBYVhI/AAAAAAAACH0/6hJ4Qx_ccdE/s1600/Illuminations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cVdEw_Y5djI/UooHRfBYVhI/AAAAAAAACH0/6hJ4Qx_ccdE/s200/Illuminations.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illuminations</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">At closing, people gather around the World Showcase Lagoon to watch one of the best firework displays you will see. Illuminations kicks off about 9pm each night. Fireworks, water cannons, and flame throwers are on barges in the middle of the lagoon. These are complimented by laser lights mounted on the buildings around the park. The center piece of the show is a giant globe with led boards that floats out to the center of the show.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is plenty to see and do at EPCOT, and isn't to be missed on your trip to Disney.</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-85856550547583990802013-11-14T12:20:00.000-05:002013-11-15T07:28:02.004-05:00Every Person Comes Out Tired (part 1)<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--3-K7mq1ENs/UoUCj_aA2LI/AAAAAAAACG8/Kf5v0PPOLKM/s1600/SE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--3-K7mq1ENs/UoUCj_aA2LI/AAAAAAAACG8/Kf5v0PPOLKM/s320/SE.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Space Ship Earth</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Next on the chopping block is EPCOT. I know it hasn’t been the <i>EPCOT Center</i> for several years.. but I still catch myself calling it that now and then. I love what EPCOT can be, but I think it misses the mark. It is close, but not quite there. Sure it has its main attractions (Sorin’, Test Track, and Mission: Space), but it also has The Universe of Energy, probably the biggest waste of space in Disney. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">EPCOT is divided into 2 main areas, Future World and the World Showcase. When you first walk into the park, you are in Future World and are greeted by the giant golf ball, known as Space Ship Earth. Inside this giant sphere, we learn the history of communication, narrated by Dame Judy Dench. Most of the rides are in Future World, and most of them have a sciencey/educational motif. There is so much to do here, I think I will break EPCOT into 2 posts.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of the most popular rides at Disney is in The Land. It is a high flying hang gliding trip over the key features of California called Sorin’. On it you fly over orange groves, the Golden Gate Bridge, the high desert, Pebble Beach golf course, Downtown LA at night, and ending at Disneyland during the fireworks display. The concept for this ride was created in the garage of one of Disney’s Imagineers, using his old erector set from when he was a kid. Each seat on the ride has a fan above you to blow air in your face to help simulate you are actually flying, and in certain scenes, they inject a scent into the fan to enhance the experience, like when you are flying over the orange grove, you can smell citrus. This ride often has wait times in excess of an hour, and fast passes often sell out quick, so go there first if you are there on a busy day. I would like to see them tweak this a bit. First off, they should take a duster to the giant dome screen, and fix the few black spots on the screen. I also think it would be cool if they would change up the scenes you fly through. They could take a page from the Star Tours ride at Hollywood Studios and change up the scenes every ride. Still finish up at Disneyland, but make the journey there different every time. Also, of all the movies they have, this one seems most suited to getting the 3D treatment.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Also in the Land pavilion is one of the hidden gems (at least in my book), Living with the Land. It is a gentile boat ride that highlights agriculture. It goes through a green house showing different types of food plants, fruits, vegetables etc.. from all over the world, and some that have been genetically engineered to be more efficient or bug resistant. One such plant is a tomato tree. There is seldom much of a line here, so it is a nice respite. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Time for lunch? Stop by Sunshine Seasons at the Land. It is routinely ranked among the best quick service places in the entire ‘World’. I have only been there for breakfast, but there is something for everyone. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_CviTCJEzZg/UoYTNNrS4SI/AAAAAAAACHg/56cCNHli0ho/s1600/20131003_154427.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_CviTCJEzZg/UoYTNNrS4SI/AAAAAAAACHg/56cCNHli0ho/s200/20131003_154427.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Next to the Land pavilion, is the Seas. Here you will find a Nemo ride, Turtle Talk with Crush and other aquatic activities. On the Nemo ride, you board a clam shell car (similar to the Doombuggies at the Haunted Mansion) and go through some of the scenes from the movie. The coolest part of the ride is towards the end, when you go through and under aquariums that have Nemo characters projected into them. It looks like our friends from the movie are swimming among actual live fish. It’s pretty slick. Once you finish the ride, there are several aquarium exhibits featuring all sorts of sea life, including dolphins, sharks, manatees, rays, and more.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yX2SPZ2q0kg/UoUClXyAiXI/AAAAAAAACHE/UcqLjDpeY1w/s1600/TT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yX2SPZ2q0kg/UoUClXyAiXI/AAAAAAAACHE/UcqLjDpeY1w/s320/TT.jpg" width="320" /></a>Another big draw in Future World is Test Track. This was recently re-done to re-brand it with Chevy as a title sponsor. As you stand in line, you design your car at a touch screen computer. You design everything from the type of vehicle (sporty.. compact.. truck.. etc), the shape, color, wheelbase, designs and accessories. After you design your car, you then put it to the test. It goes through breaking, swerving, hot and cold conditions, then for a speed test. At different points through the ride, you go past screens with testing results of your car. The speed test takes place around the outside of the building. The day we rode it, when we came out of the building for the speed test, we were staring straight into the morning sun. In one of the few instances of poor planning on behalf of the Disney Imagineers, the camera is right there. Because of this, most of the pictures taken, show people shading their eyes. After the ride, you are let out into a room with several Chevy based exhibits. You can sit in a new Camaro, Volt, S-10 or other Chevy vehicles. You can have your picture taken with the care you just designed, and you can race your car in a video game similar to the old ‘Off Road’ arcade game. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One ride that is a big draw, but I did not like is Mission: Space. On it, you board a rocket bound for Mars, narrated by Lt Dan. It is a centrifuge ride, and you experience some serious G-forces. It was too much for me to handle, but if you like that sort of thing, you would probably enjoy it. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">One of the least impressive rides at all of Disney is here. It is The Universe of Energy. It is a long (45min) ride. In it you are in a dream of Ellen DeGeneres. It is an old movie, (special guests Alex Trebek has a mustache and Jamie Lee Curtis has red hair) where Bill Nye the Science Guy teaches Ellen about energy and where it comes from. Part of the ride does take you through a large room of animatronic dinosaurs, which are pretty cool, but not cool enough to rescue this ride. Unless you are looking for a place for a nap in a dark, air conditioned area, I’d skip this. This ride is definitely due for a redesign. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The world of imagination could use a re-boot, the Capitan EO movie with Michael Jackson is very dated, and it’s time to retire it. It does have some fun interactive things that kids can play, but it isn’t as cool as I remember it when I went in 1986.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The last thing that I will cover in today’s posting is another of the coolest parts of Future World. It is Club Cool, sponsored by Coke. In here, you can try several beverages bottled by Coke from around the world. In the last few weeks, they replaced all the flavors here, so I can’t comment on any of them except for the newly added Inca Kola, since I had it when I was down in Peru several years ago. I really liked the sample they had from Israel, and will miss it. Perhaps I will find a new favorite next time we go down there.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Next time, I will cover the back half of the park, the World Showcase.</div><br />@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-44701739431669884912013-11-08T15:17:00.000-05:002013-11-08T21:04:06.068-05:00Disney's Animal Kingdom<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0NrA9Dkve8/Un1GC9PL83I/AAAAAAAACFY/EWTSxBmRkOA/s1600/AK+Tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0NrA9Dkve8/Un1GC9PL83I/AAAAAAAACFY/EWTSxBmRkOA/s320/AK+Tree.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Tree of Life</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This week, we will look at probably my favorite park, Animal Kingdom. A lot of people don’t rank this as high as I do, and many consider it just a ½ day park. I guess I get that, but I think they are missing a lot. Sure.. there aren’t the rides that Magic Kingdom has, but most of the attractions that it does have, I find fascinating. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is a large park, and one ride is larger than the Magic Kingdom and EPCOT combined. And it happens to be my favorite ride at Disney, more on that in a bit…). The park is divided into ‘lands’ like Magic Kingdom. You can travel from Asia to Africa, even back in time in a day. They did a good job of recreating the feel of being in an exotic village. There are several gift shops with uniquely themed items as well as the traditional Disney stand-bys (ears, hats etc...). The park has several animal viewing areas with lots of different kinds of wild life. For those of us not from Florida, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the imported exotic animals, and the native ibis that you don’t see around Rochester. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">At the center of the park is the Tree of Life, a giant artificial tree that is covered in animal carvings. It makes for a nice centerpiece of the park and a great backdrop for photos.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The 3 big draws for rides in the park include a roller coaster (Expedition Everest, which I have yet to ride, but it is on my list), a river rapid ride (Kali River, a lot of fun, and you will get wet riding it) and my favorite ride in all of Disney, Kilimanjaro Safari Ride. On this ride, you board a safari truck and go off into the wild. You will see several different types of African animals, everything from giraffes to hippos to elephants to rhinos and much more. &nbsp;The designers of the ride did a great job of disguising the barriers between the territories, so it feels like it is one giant free-flowing wilderness preserve. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VOc79O_fSTs/Un1GE8VndHI/AAAAAAAACFg/-BJU9DgE_04/s1600/AK+Giraffe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VOc79O_fSTs/Un1GE8VndHI/AAAAAAAACFg/-BJU9DgE_04/s320/AK+Giraffe.jpg" width="320" /></a><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Most of the areas are very large, so the animals have a lot of room to roam. As a result, you may not have a great view of all animals, and sometimes, you won’t see them at all. In other cases, the ride is held up waiting for a rhino or giraffe to finish crossing the road. You can get some great shots of the animals that are not obstructed by fences or walls. You can almost reach out and touch them.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are also several shows at the park, my favorite being the Flights of Wonder bird show. It is a good bird show that displays several birds and teaches a bit about them, with the typical Disney shtick (the guide that is afraid of birds, that is told to hide by that tree because birds hate trees). There are varying levels of audience participation. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Another show that I enjoy is a 3-D movie ‘It’s Tough to be a Bug’. It is in a theater that is actually inside the Tree of Life. It is a multi media movie with surprises with the bugs from Bugs Life. Some of the things are startling, so it might not be the best thing to take small children to.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dFjl8FHweoo/Un1GGyWzOcI/AAAAAAAACFo/zLosy3drZa4/s1600/AK+Molly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dFjl8FHweoo/Un1GGyWzOcI/AAAAAAAACFo/zLosy3drZa4/s200/AK+Molly.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Niece Molly <br />and Simba</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">2 more shows that are well done, but I am not a fan of are the Festival of the Lion King, a colorful, high-energy performance based on the movie featuring costumed dancers and acrobats. People love it.. it is just not my thing, and the benches you sit on are not all that comfortable. The other is Finding Nemo. It is basically a Broadway version of the movie. Again, it is well done, but not my thing. I didn’t love the movie, and I don’t like the way they do the puppets. (And the benches are not all that comfortable either.) But it is air conditioned, so it is a nice break from the heat of the day, especially for a park that doesn’t have many indoor things to do. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are wildlife experts throughout the park that are happy to answer any questions you have about the animals, and great photo-ops abound. We got one of the best pictures taken by one of the PhotoPass photogs. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All in all, I love this park. I am disappointed that we only got to spend part of 1 day there on our last trip. I plan on making up for that on our next trip.</div><br /><br />@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-42720601127735994612013-11-04T16:29:00.000-05:002013-11-08T10:02:32.629-05:00Magic Kingdom<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In keeping with the Disney Parks theme, I think I will now go with the attractions that I like best. I’ll do one column on each park. I’ll figure in what I like, why I like it, and what (if anything) I would do to make it better.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’ll start with what most people think of when they say Disney World, the Magic Kingdom.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UvGOgZGD3-8/Unz8v-T_w-I/AAAAAAAACFE/vafdhM5fplk/s1600/MK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UvGOgZGD3-8/Unz8v-T_w-I/AAAAAAAACFE/vafdhM5fplk/s320/MK.jpg" width="212" /></a>There is so much to like about the park. So many good rides, classics and new favorites. There are the iconic rides like the Mountains (Splash, Thunder and Space) and Small World, the Disney-ified carnival rides (i.e. Dumbo/Aladdin/AstroOrbiter and the Prince Charming Carousel, etc.. ), and the rides that only Disney would make interesting (i.e. People mover, carousel of progress, etc.. ). </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I think my 2 favorite rides at the Magic Kingdom are the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion. I like to hit both rides multiple times each trip. Both have been there from the beginning, and have counterparts in Anaheim. Both rides have the high level of attention to detail that we have come to expect from Disney. There isn’t much I would do to improve either ride, other than updating the animatronics as technology improves, but be careful to not overdo it. Part of the charm is the corny-ness of them. They recently rehabbed the Jungle Cruise, and they did a good job of keeping the feel of the ride, while smoothing out the movement of the ‘animals’. As I mentioned in my last posting, I would like to see a camera added to the Haunted Mansion in the part where the hitchhiking ghosts are projected into your ‘doom-buggy’, and make it available for purchase or as part of the PhotoPass+ package. A close 3<sup>rd</sup> on this one is the Pirates of the Caribbean. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Other things that are ‘must dos’ in my book include:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">-The Tomorrowland People Mover, it is a nice slow ride through Tomorrowland that goes past or through several of the rides/attractions in that part of the park</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">-Splash Mountain, a log flume ride themed after Song of the South</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;">-Carrousel of Progress, a look at a family throughout several different eras and how technology has evolved. It is done well and is a nice comfortable air conditioned &nbsp;break from the heat.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 10.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There has been a push to make things more interactive. This includes the rides as well as the queue. I like the Buzz Lightyear ride, which gives you a chance to beat your best score as you shoot your laser gun at targets throughout the ride. There is a picture on this one that is not a particularly intriguing (not like Splash Mountain) picture, that I only got because we had pre-paid for the PhotoPass+ which includes attraction pictures.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I am not usually a fan of the carnival style rides, nothing against them, but my general rule is there isn’t a need to ride a ride that can be done at a carnival or at Darien Lake, just because it has a picture of a Disney icon on it. This includes the flying rides, that are basically the same ride with a different theme (Dumbo, Aladdin and AstroOribiter), the Prince Charming Carrousel, the Tea Cups, etc.. I do have to say, that if the added a large Ferris Wheel in the back of Fantasyland, I would ride that every trip, and would make sure to ride it at night. Another one that I would just as soon skip is the Tiki room. It is a bunch of robot birds doing bad jokes and singing songs.. and the seats aren’t even that comfortable.. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Other rides that I could take or leave, some (including my wife) would consider sacrilegious to have on this list would be It’s a Small World and Peter Pan’s flight. I won’t put up a fight, but I won’t ever suggest we go on either of them. The Peter Pan ride isn’t bad, but I just don’t get the lines it has.. It is a decent enough ride for a 15-20 min wait, but this ride often has a wait time well exceeding an hour.. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All in all, there is more than enough to justify spending multiple days of your trip at the Magic Kingdom. There are some great snacks (3 words.. dole whip float..), fun restaurants (Liberty Tree Tavern is probably my favorite restaurant on property), and the Wishes fireworks show is always well done. There is enough variety of the rides and attractions that there is more than ‘something for the whole family’.&nbsp;</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-17554470604144589782013-10-11T12:47:00.000-04:002013-11-08T21:51:18.256-05:00Our Latest Disney Trip<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>So, I’ve just recently returned from my 2<sup>nd</sup> ever Disney trip, so obviously, I’m something of an expert at this point. I know all there is to know about all things Disney World, or as we experts call it, ‘the Parks’.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This time we stayed in a Savannah view suite at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Kidani Village. It was a very nice room, especially with as many people as we had traveling with us. It sleeps 9 (we had 6 adults and 2 children), and has 3 full bathrooms, and a nice long balcony overlooking the aforementioned savannah (more on that in a moment). It also boasts a full kitchen (complete with plates, pitchers, roasting pans, utensils, etc…) and a washer and drier in the unit. It is basically a 2 bedroom apartment.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The property has a nice pool area with a spray park and hot tub, a fitness facility, an arcade, and other activities available.&nbsp; I took advantage of the hot tub one night, but after long days at the parks, when we got back, I didn’t want to walk over to the pool area (which wasn’t <i>that</i> far, but it wasn’t close..), we just wanted to crash..</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WpgO6qc5pWg/Un2gj56pYMI/AAAAAAAACGI/JAEGpN2eLsA/s1600/AK+Lodge+Savannah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WpgO6qc5pWg/Un2gj56pYMI/AAAAAAAACGI/JAEGpN2eLsA/s200/AK+Lodge+Savannah.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our balcony</td></tr></tbody></table>From the balcony or from any of the several viewing areas, we could see all sorts of African wildlife. Some of the animals we saw included giraffes, zebras, wildebeests, ostriches, several types of deer and antelopes and African cows (I don’t remember the actual name for them) and several types of birds. It was cool to see them. One thing I would have liked to see was a card or poster in the room that included pictures of the animals and a little about them. There was no visible fence, but there was a barrier that is difficult to see unless you are looking for it, so it looks like they could come right up to your window.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3TZs3rMqbxc/Un2gj9P7hYI/AAAAAAAACGA/IT4_zc-53JQ/s1600/AK+Lodge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3TZs3rMqbxc/Un2gj9P7hYI/AAAAAAAACGA/IT4_zc-53JQ/s200/AK+Lodge.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the lobby</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>We really didn’t spend a lot of daylight hours in the room, so we really didn’t take advantage of the amenities of the hotel. Luckily, it is a short walk to the Disney Transportation bus stop and a quick ride to the parks. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In our last 2 trips, I have ridden on most of the rides in the 4 parks at least once. A couple of the ones that I have missed (well, not missed, just not ridden) include the rides that are regular carnival rides with a Disney twist, the sorts of rides that you can do at your local amusement park (i.e. tea cups, the Dumbo ride, etc…) and the 3 big coasters (Space Mountain, Expedition Everest and the Rocken’ Roller Coaster). I am not a huge fan of roller coasters, so they aren't high on my list of things to do, although, I would like to get on them at least once.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A couple of my favorite rides are the Jungle Cruise, Pirates and Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom, Soarin’ at EPCOT, Toy Story, the Back Lot tour and Great Movie Ride at Hollywood Studios and The Safari, Kali River Rapids and Tough to be a Bug at Animal Kingdom (probably my favorite of the 4 parks). The first time we went to Hollywood Studios, we got there shortly after opening and went straight to the Toy Story ride to get a FastPass, by the time we got there, the return times for the FastPass was already 4.30p. We had dinner reservations for 5, at a resort, so we didn't get them. An hour or so later, we happened past the ride, and they had already covered up the FastPass machines, and were not issuing more for the day. a couple days later we went back to that park, and it was much slower, so we were able to get on the ride. I now know why the wait is so long. It is a similar ride to the Buzz Lightyear ride in Magic Kingdom, but it is much better. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The advantage of going at the time of year that we went is the crowds are so much smaller. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a ghost town, but wait times are rarely more than 20-30 min for most rides and some rarely have any wait at all. Not sure I would want to go during the peak times.. especially in July or August when in addition to everyone being there, it is 1000 degrees. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wevjVby7LqU/Un2glTMycvI/AAAAAAAACGU/fY7Pm-j1zSs/s1600/Tony+Fountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wevjVby7LqU/Un2glTMycvI/AAAAAAAACGU/fY7Pm-j1zSs/s200/Tony+Fountain.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lady and the Tramp fountain</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table>I wasn’t in love with most of the places we ate on this trip. Some were good, others, not so much. The first night we ate at Tony’s Town Square at Magic Kingdom. It is the Italian restaurant from Lady and the Tramp. I really enjoyed it. I got the steak, and it was cooked perfectly. The bread and oil was good and the vanilla gelato was a great way to finish it. The service wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. She didn’t add anything to the experience, but she didn’t detract from it.&nbsp; I would eat there again. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The next night, we went to Boma, an ‘African’ buffet in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. It was good, but not great. There wasn’t a huge selection, but what I tried, I mostly liked. Deserts were pretty plain, cookies and cakes.. typical buffet deserts, nothing really to write home about. This place probably wouldn’t be high on my list to return.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Next on the dinner schedule was one of my favorites, Liberty Tree Tavern in Magic Kingdom. This is a colonial themed restaurant that has a fixed menu that is like thanksgiving dinner, served family style, all you can eat. The meal includes salad and rolls (didn’t love the house made dressing, but it isn’t my taste), then they bring out the dinner. Sides of mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed veggies (mostly zucchini), and sautéed green beans, and then the main courses.. roast beef, smoked pork and turkey, with stuffing. Everything is delicious. Just when you can’t eat any more, they bring out desert, a white cake with crasins in it, topped with vanilla ice cream, with a cranberry sauce to top it off. This is definitely a place we would go to again. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bZGHJoUUKaQ/Un2ipXyriTI/AAAAAAAACGs/vLgCpe71vZM/s1600/Chef+Mickey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bZGHJoUUKaQ/Un2ipXyriTI/AAAAAAAACGs/vLgCpe71vZM/s200/Chef+Mickey.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dinner at Chef Mickey</td></tr></tbody></table>Chef Mickey’s in the Contemporary was the next stop on our dinner menu. It is a character dinner buffet that features the ‘Fab 5’, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. I don’t really care about meeting the characters, but it is fun. This was a good buffet. There was plenty of selection, from sushi, to mac and cheese to carved beef and pork. If you couldn’t find something to fill yourself up with, you are too picky. It is in the lobby of the Contemporary hotel, one of the originals at WDW. One of the cool things about the location of Chef Mickey’s is that you can watch the monorails go by as they come in and out of the hotel. This is a good place to eat, and would consider a return trip to eat with the gang. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A Hawaiian themed setting greeted us for our next dinner at Ohana, in the Polynesian resort. This is another set menu served family style. They brought out the bread, (which I didn’t love), then the salad (which I didn’t love) and a couple appetizers, wings and a sort of chow mien.&nbsp; A little background about my tastes would be good here.. I am not a fan of sweet sauces for meats. I don’t like honey ham, I don’t put cranberries on my turkey and I don’t understand mango chutney. That being said, the food served here wasn’t bad. It is all cooked on skewers over an open fire in the middle of the restaurant, and the servers bring around the skewers until you tell them to stop. They have shrimp, chicken, steak and pork. The pork was very good, the chicken wasn’t bad, but the steak was too sweet. I tried the shrimp it wasn’t bad, but I am normally not a fan of crawling seafood. &nbsp;The one saving grace of the Ohana was the bread pudding with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce for desert. <i>That</i> was very good. This is not a place to go for an intimate setting. It is a large open floor plan with servers coming and going with skewers of freshly cooked meats. It is very busy and not quiet. I don’t think it will be on the list for a return visit. The food was quality, just not my taste.&nbsp; (Although, I would like to stay at the Polynesian on a future stay, and now that they are building DVC Villas, we will be staying there on a future visit.)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our final dinner was at the Coral Reef at EPCOT. It is in the same building as the Nemo ride, but has a separate entrance.&nbsp; This is one of the smaller restaurants, but its main feature is that it shares a wall with one of the large aquariums. You can watch all sorts of sea life (including sharks and rays, and the occasional SCUBA diver) swim by as you eat. That was pretty cool. The food is served menu style and is predominately a seafood restaurant, but they have other options like chicken or steak. I opted for the steak. The steak was over cooked, I ordered medium-rare, and it came out more medium-well.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U0mbI34u0LU/Un2gkBZdhUI/AAAAAAAACGE/5J0qF7ZrwR0/s1600/HS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-U0mbI34u0LU/Un2gkBZdhUI/AAAAAAAACGE/5J0qF7ZrwR0/s200/HS.jpg" width="133" /></a>On this trip, we took advantage of the pre-sale of the PhotoPass+. We did the regular PhotoPass last year, which lets you get as many pictures as you want from the PhotoPass photographers around the parks, which you can add boarders to and have a CD of them all for future use. You can also order custom photo themed items such as mugs, tee-shirts, calendars, etc. The difference between the PhotoPass and the PhotoPass+, is the + includes pictures from the rides (Splash Mountain, Tower of Terror, Buzz Lightyear, etc..) as well as the photo packages from other events, like dinner at Chef Mickey’s and the Pirate experience. Definitely a cool thing, but not something I would buy every trip, just on the special ones. Pre-ordering it saves you about $50. As a group, we got around 350 pictures, and I’ll be playing with the pictures for a bit to add boarders, stickers, etc.. then order the disk and share the pictures with everyone that went on the trip. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xo2fxE4Ufpg/Un2gk6WpSMI/AAAAAAAACGQ/My_ZxHeON04/s1600/MK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Xo2fxE4Ufpg/Un2gk6WpSMI/AAAAAAAACGQ/My_ZxHeON04/s320/MK.jpg" width="320" /></a>One thing Disney does big, is holidays. Halloween is no exception. On several nights in September and October, they host “Mickey’s not-so-Scary Halloween Party”. It is a separately ticketed event, so it is in addition to the park admissions you have already paid for. It gives you an opportunity to trick-or-treat in the park, in costume. The special ticket is required, so the crowds are a bit low. They have a special Halloween parade (which I didn’t see) and a special version of Wishes, their nightly fireworks display. This was a very good display. You can also take advantage of more and unique PhotoPlus opportunities. You can have your picture taken next to the horseless carriage in front of the Haunted Mansion, they then photo-shop in a ghostly driver. We had more pictures taken, but they have yet to show up on my page, I have emailed their help desk to research it and have it added, but no luck yet.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the fall, EPCOT hosts the Eat to the Beats Concert series. They bring in bands for a couple days each and they do a couple shows a night. We happened to see Air Supply. I have to say, those old guys still put on a pretty good show they played for about 20 min, 5 songs or so. Other bands this year included Starship, Sugar Ray, The Go-Gos and more.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As part of the basic dining plan we had selected for food. This includes 1 table service meal, 1 quick service meal and 1 snack per person, per night of the stay as well as the souvenir refillable mug. The refillable mug is a cool thing, as long as you don’t have to pay extra for it. It is good at you’re the resort you are staying at for soft drinks. A couple of things to make it better would be to let it be good at a couple of places in the parks, or to make it a little bigger. It is currently about 12oz, if they made them 20-32oz, it would make for a more usable option. In the 2 places we have stayed (AKL this year and Saratoga Springs last year), the walk to where the soda fountains are is a bit of a hike, almost not worth it for such a small serving of soda. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A couple of the notable things we enjoyed on the trip include the cinnamon bun from the new Gaston’s Tavern, literally, the size of a baby’s head. We also got the Dole Whip float, a must have for all trips to the Magic Kingdom. As part of the new expansion of the Fantasy Land in Magic Kingdom, a new restaurant opened up. It is modeled after the Beast’s castle from Beauty and the Beast. It is a hot ticket for dinner, and is completely booked up months in advance. A couple months ago, I tried getting a dinner for our trip in January, there was nothing available. They are, however, a quick service for lunch, and the wait times can be close to 3 hours. We were able to secure a ‘fastpass’ of sorts and were able to jump the line and get in. The food was the standard type of quick service meals around the parks, but it is in the ballrooms that serve as dining rooms for the highly sought after table service dinner. There are 3 different rooms, all right from the movie. One featured the torn paintings and the rose under glass, one was the main dance hall and the other is the main entry way of the castle. Since it is so busy, it is tough to find a table. If you don’t have a MagicBand, they give you a RF pager so they know where you sit, and they bring you your food right to your table. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Since we have established that I am an expert in all things Disney World, I wanted to take a few moments to make suggestions to make a great experience better… </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">First off, there needs to be huge Ferris wheel at Magic Kingdom. Something similar to the one in Niagara Falls. Something that can get high enough to see a good part of the park from the top of the wheel. I enjoy people watching, and I like seeing things from above. I think that an aerial view of the park at night, or maybe during the Wishes fireworks display would be a cool way to see the park.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My next suggestion would be a couple of additions/tweaks to the rides that have photo-ops. I would add a photo-op to the Haunted Mansion in the part of the ride where the mirror is, that shows the computer generated spooks in the doom-buggy with you. Another suggestion would be to either re-locate the camera, or add an additional camera to that switches based on the time of day to Test Track. As it is now, it is right after you come out of the dark building to the fast part of the ride. When we rode it, it was early morning, and we come out looking straight at the sun. If they add another camera on the back end that they use in the morning, and keep this one and use it in the afternoons, it would avoid everyone who rides the ride in the morning from having to block the sun when the picture is taken. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">So now that I am in Disney cool-down, I will begin ramping up for our low-key trip in January shortly. We will be going back to Saratoga for what will probably be our last trip for a year or so. I look forward to seeing if the 7 Dwarves train ride will be open by then (it looked pretty close this trip).</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-19197430349647568282013-08-29T10:37:00.002-04:002013-08-29T10:37:15.294-04:00The Most Magical Place on Earth<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">About a year ago, I went to Disney World for the first time since I was in 5<sup>th</sup> grade. At the time, EPCOT (then The EPCOT Center) was only a couple years old, the MGM studios and Animal Kingdom were probably not even on the drawing boards yet. So it was basically like my first time.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We went for our honeymoon. I wasn't particularly looking forward to it. Not that I didn't want to go, but I didn't want to start off the marriage by spending soooo much money. I wouldn't say I had a bad attitude about it, but if you took a video of me, it wouldn't be one of the ones they would use in the commercials.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My wife was a member of the Disney Vacation Club (DVC). Before I knew much about it, I was about ready to put the kibosh on it. I thought that spending $55 per person per day for 2 meals a day (and a snack) was on the excessive side, but we went with it.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The trip didn't start out great. When we checked in at the Saratoga Springs resort, we were given bad directions on how to find our suite. The resort is very spread out, and there are several buildings in several sections, and they aren't really numbered that well. I kept saying that they should have put us on a golf cart, and driven us to our building. After quite a hike, we found our room. Fortunately, we had used the Magical Express bus, so we were only schlepping our carry-on gear, our checked bags were being delivered directly to our room.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our dinner reservations for that night were at the Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom, so after we dropped our stuff off at the room, we headed to the bus stop not far from the room to catch a ride to ‘the most magical place on earth’. As we were walking up to the stop, the MK bus was just pulling out. We sat down and waited for the next bus. While we were waiting, we saw buses for all 3 other parks (including some multiple times), both water parks, and Downtown Disney. After about an hour wait, the MK bus came back. I was pretty frustrated at this point. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Once we got to the park, things changed. I remembered a little of what I had seen nearly 30 years ago, and from what I had seen in commercials, on TV, and videos. Main Street USA seemed familiar with the view of the Castle. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">All in all, it turned out to be a great trip. We hit all 4 parks, and had some great meals, and it turned out that we had more snack points than we used, so we stocked up on snacks that we could take on the plane with us. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Long story short, I am a Disney Park convert. I began looking forward to our next trip (which we fly out in less than a month). With I started looking on line for reviews and information about the parks. I found a couple sites that I really enjoy reading. I built a spreadsheet that lists the hours of the parks for each day, the time and location of our dinner reservations and special shows.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I thought it would be fun to write about Disney experiences. I won’t be going often enough (at least for now) to be any good at it, but I figured I would try my hand at it for now. As I mentioned, we will be headed down there in about a month. I plan on writing a few posts about the trip. Things like restaurant reviews, a hotel/resort review and some general thoughts about the parks (things I like, things I don’t, and things that could be that much better). I will try to post pictures as well (if I can figure out how to do that here.. other wise, you can see them on my FB page. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4655855676504.190695.1296717322&amp;type=1&amp;l=eb1f2dbefb" target="_blank">Here </a>is a link to some of the ones I took last year.)</div>@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19614392.post-86068907389120003812012-05-01T20:46:00.000-04:002012-05-01T20:46:09.303-04:00The Ends Don't Justify the Means..The graduation rate of New York students has been lower than desired for several years now. The latest plan from the Board of Regents may solve the problem on paper.. but it will do more harm than good.<br /><br />Years ago, New York high school students had 2 options or tracks to choose from when planning out their education, a local curriculum, or the state wide Regents. The Regents diploma was more in depth, and therefore, it signified a more thorough education.<br /><br />Later, the Regents option became the only choice. This requires a set of state wide standardized exams. This isn't a bad idea.. make NY graduates smarter.. better qualified students makes them better suited for the workforce.<br /><br />The problem is, not all students are up to the higher standards the Regents exams set.<br /><br />What is the BoR's idea to fix the falling grades? Lower the standards. When I was in high school, a passing grade was 70% during the year, and 65% on the Regents. learn almost 2/3 of the material.. that was good enough. Now 65 is for over achievers. 55% is now the passing grade. A proposal to let students borrow points from 1 test they did well on and apply them to another they did less well on.<br /><br />Another thing holding back graduates is the Global Studies exam. It is the most failed of the Regents exams. How do you solve that? Don't make them take it.. The proposal is to let students take an extra math or science exam, or some vocational training.<br /><br />Lowering the standards is not the answer. Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it. If they don't teach it, how can we learn it?@mwildey1http://www.blogger.com/profile/09099225736827281121noreply@blogger.com0